th
a
shing
Article history:
Accepted 9 March 2010
New pedological, geological, archaeological, and geochronological data from the Miles Point site in
1906). Consequently, many of the 20th century geologic interpre-
tations of these silty strata have associated their origin with
Quaternary ?uvial terraces and/or estuarine sediments deposited
during periods of high sea level (e.g., Shattuck, 1906; Miller, 1926;
Rasmussen and Slaughter, 1957). Subsequent interpretations, built
In this study, we use pedological, geological, and archaeolog-
ical data, constrained by radiocarbon and optically stimulated
luminescence (OSL) dates, to provide a geochronological frame-
work for the timing of two Late Pleistocene episodes of loess
deposition, each followed by a period of soil formation during
landscape stability. Our results provide new information
regarding the depositional and paleo-environmental conditions
for a poorly understood Late Quaternary landscape of the Middle
Atlantic U.S.A.
* Corresponding author. Department of Geography, University of Delaware,
Newark, DE 19716, USA. Tel./fax: ?1 302 831 8273.
Contents lists availab
Quaternary Scie
lse
ARTICLE IN PRESS
Quaternary Science Reviews xxx (2010) 1e9E-mail address: michael@udel.edu (M.A. O?Neal).Thin deposits of primarily silt-sized sediments, typically less
than 1 m thick, blanket much of the uplands of the western half of
the Delmarva Peninsula (Fig. 1). In many areas, erosion via both
natural processes and historic agricultural activity has resulted in
discontinuous cover or local deposits of varying thickness
(Simonson, 1982). Thus, these surface sediments are often dif?cult
to map and/or interpret geologically on a regional scale. In areas
with large exposures, mostly in incised valleys and along coastal
bluffs, these silt strata rest atop sequences of Pliocene, Miocene,
and Pleistocene shallow marine to estuarine deposits (Shattuck,
and redeposited by eolian processes during sea level lowstands (e.
g., Carey et al., 1976; Owens and Denny, 1979). More recent soil and
sedimentological analyses indicate a broader regional expanse of
these sediments and support a purely wind blown origin with
parent material derived from glacial outwash from the Susque-
hanna River during and after the Last Glacial Maximum (Reybold,
1970; Foss et al., 1978; Lowery, 2002; Wah, 2003; NRCS, 2009).
However, these studies lack the detailed geochronological data
necessary to de?nitively support an eolian source for these upland
sediments in the context of Late Pleistocene and Holocene sea level
rise (see Nikitina et al., 2000).1. Introduction0277-3791/$ e see front matter 
 2010 Elsevier Ltd.
doi:10.1016/j.quascirev.2010.03.007
Please cite this article in press as: Lowery, D
Science Reviews (2010), doi:10.1016/j.quascibetween 41 and 25 ka. A paleosol (Tilghman Soil) formed in this loess was initially developed in
grasslands and boreal environments during a subsequent period of landscape stability between 25 and
18 ka. Between 18 and 12.8 ka, the Miles Point Loess and the Tilghman Soil were eroded in many areas as
evidenced by diagnostic ca. 12.8 ka Clovis-age artifacts lying unconformably on the Tilghman Soil. Cores
adjacent to the deep channel area of the Chesapeake Bay con?rm this erosional unconformity prior to
12.7 ka. A relatively uniform terminal-Pleistocene loess (Paw Paw), deposited prior to the Early Archaic
period, buried Clovis-age lag artifacts and other archaeological remains older than 13.2 ka. Stratigraphic
evidence from the Late Pleistocene lower Susquehanna River Valley suggests that the Paw Paw Loess is
the result of eolian redeposition and reworking of non-glacial eroded upland sediments that ?lled the
valley between 12.7 and 11.5 ka.

 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
on these ideas, suggest that the silts were additionally entrainedReceived in revised form
2 March 2010interpreting the upland stratigraphy in the western Delmarva Peninsula. Our results indicate the pres-
ence of two different intervals of loess deposition. The earlier loess (Miles Point Loess) was depositedReceived 7 October 2009 eastern Maryland are compared with similar data from other nearby sites to develop a framework forLate Pleistocene upland stratigraphy of
Darrin L. Lowery a, Michael A. O?Neal a,b,*, John S. W
aDepartment of Geological Sciences, University of Delaware, Newark, DE 19716, USA
bDepartment of Geography, University of Delaware, Newark, DE 19716, USA
cMatapeake Soil and Environmental Consultants, Shippensburg, PA 17257, USA
dGeo-Sci Consultants, University Park, MD 20782, USA
eDepartment of Anthropology, Smithsonian Institution Museum of Natural History, Wa
a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t
journal homepage: www.eAll rights reserved.
.L., et al., Late Pleistocene upla
rev.2010.03.007e western Delmarva Peninsula, USA
h c, Daniel P. Wagner d, Dennis J. Stanford e
ton, DC 20013, USA
le at ScienceDirect
nce Reviews
vier.com/locate/quascirevnd stratigraphy of the western Delmarva Peninsula, USA, Quaternary
Sci
ARTICLE IN PRESSD.L. Lowery et al. / Quaternary22. Study area
The data collected for this study are from a bank, 2 m in height,
and the adjacent terrace in the intertidal zone of the Miles River in
western Talbot County, Maryland (Figs. 1 and 2). The exposed bank
and associated archaeological site (18TA365) are located along the
modern coastline and are in a heavily eroded agricultural ?eld with
the modern soil mapped as Typic Hapludults and Aquic Hapludults
(NRCS, 2009). Although now part of an eroding coastal setting, this
site was an upland inter?uve during the Late Pleistocene and early
Holocene (United States Geologic Survey, 1983).
The primary focus of this manuscript pertains to data collected
from the Miles Point site; however, data from several other Mary-
land locations in western Talbot, Queen Annes, and northwestern
Dorchester Counties are also discussed (see Fig. 1). All three
Fig. 1. Map of the Delmarva Peninsula displaying county names and the location of the Mi
Crane Point, (4) Paw Paw Cove, (5) Blackwalnut Point, (6) James Island, (7) Oyster Cove, an
eastern U.S.A.
Please cite this article in press as: Lowery, D.L., et al., Late Pleistocene upla
Science Reviews (2010), doi:10.1016/j.quascirev.2010.03.007ence Reviews xxx (2010) 1e9counties are located to the east of the Chesapeake Bay within what
is known as the ?Eastern Shore? of Maryland. Each county lies
entirely within the Atlantic coastal plain physiographic province
and has natural exposures of Miocene to Quaternary age deposits.
The sites discussed are almost completely surrounded by estuaries
and small tidal bays with the highest elevation in each county only
slightly more than 21 m above sea level. The western portion of
Talbot County, which is the focus of this study, is less than 3 m
above sea level.
3. Methods
Soil descriptions were compiled in the ?eld from three locations
along the approximately 15 m-long study section of the bank
pro?le using standard USDA soil horizon nomenclature (Soil Survey
les Point study site (1) and other locations discussed in this study, (2) Wye Island, (3)
d (8) Blackwater Wildlife Refuge. Inset map shows the study area in the context of the
nd stratigraphy of the western Delmarva Peninsula, USA, Quaternary
Staff, 1992). As a test of the lateral continuity of the exposed soil
pro?les, 100 split-spoon augur samples from 5 inland transects
perpendicular to the current shoreline were collected to a depth of
1.25 m. Auger samples were collected every 5 m over each of the
?ve 50-m-long transects.
Toprovidegeochronological control for the studysite, 8 sediment
cores were retrieved from silt units for OSL dating. The OSL samples
were obtained by hammering plastic tubes into cleaned sections of
the bank pro?le. Once removed the tubes were sealed and placed in
sampling bags. All OSL samples were processed at the Luminesence
Dating Research Laboratory at the University of Chicago using the
multiple aliquot regenerative dose technique. Additionally, three
charcoal samples and one bulk soil sample were collected from an
organic rich stratum for accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS)
radiocarbon dating. Beta Laboratories processed all radiocarbon
samples. Note that the laboratory identi?cation numbers are pre-
sented in Section 4 next to the date provided for each sample.
In areas where potential anthropogenic materials were iden-
ti?ed, the pro?le wall was excavated as a 1 m by 0.5 m unit in
10 cm intervals, with an attempt to follow the natural stratigraphy.
All materials were water screened using 0.325 cm (1/8 inch) mesh.
Bulk sediment samples were collected adjacent to cultural
remains to identify the presence of materials that may be used as
environmental indicators (i.e., woody debris, plant microfossils,
hair, etc.).
Fig. 2. Photograph of the eroding bank at the Miles Point study site showing the
exposed thickness of our two silt loam deposits. A paleosol, developed in the lower
deposit, de?nes the contact between these two units.
Fig. 3. The stratigraphic pro?le at Miles Point with soil descriptions, radioc
D.L. Lowery et al. / Quaternary Science Reviews xxx (2010) 1e9 3
ARTICLE IN PRESS
Please cite this article in press as: Lowery, D.L., et al., Late Pleistocene upla
Science Reviews (2010), doi:10.1016/j.quascirev.2010.03.007arbon sample locations and ages, and OSL sample locations and ages.
nd stratigraphy of the western Delmarva Peninsula, USA, Quaternary
Sci
ARTICLE IN PRESSD.L. Lowery et al. / Quaternary44. Results
Soils at Miles Point and other locations in the study area are
multisequal and exhibit very strong subsoil development. Soils
formed in two silt loam deposits overlie a third basal, ?ne-sandy
sequum formed in either ?uvial/estuarine sediments or possibly
coarse eolian deposits (Fig. 3). Pedogenic welding of the successive
sediment packages has resulted in somewhat complex labeling for
buried surface horizons. In a representative pro?le, simple horizo-
nation exists only for the soil formed in Paw Paw Cove Loess con-
sisting of a sur?cial Ap horizon to 27 cm, a transitional BE horizon to
47 cm, and combined Btx and Btxg horizons to 81 cm, at which
depth the second sequum formed in the underlying silts begins. Its
surface has been fusedwith the overlying subsoil and is identi?ed as
a 2ABtxb horizon extending to 99 cm. Below this buried surface
a 2Btxb horizon then extends to contact with the second buried and
welded surface (3ABtb) at 144 cm, beneath which subsoil develop-
ment ranges through normal horizonation (3BEbe3Btbe3BCgb) to
largely unweathered sediments at 193 cm. Examination of auger
samples that were retrieved to the level of the 2ABtxb horizon
revealed that similar soil composition carries across the landscape;
the representative pro?le described above is depicted in Fig. 3.
Fig. 4. Plan view of the Miles Point site showing the location of artifacts retrieved from alon
remains con?dential.
Please cite this article in press as: Lowery, D.L., et al., Late Pleistocene upla
Science Reviews (2010), doi:10.1016/j.quascirev.2010.03.007ence Reviews xxx (2010) 1e9A scatter of artifacts was excavated directly beneath the 2ABtxb
soil horizon. The location of artifacts that were eroded from the
exposed bank pro?le is plotted with respect to the in situ artifact
cluster (see Fig. 4). The artifacts excavated ormapped in situ include
a large rounded quartzite anvil, two quartzite hammerstones,
a chert bifacial lanceolate projectile point, a quartzite wedge or bi-
polar core, two unifacial retouched quartzite blade ?akes or spalls,
and a small chert polyhedral blade core (see Fig. 5). The artifacts
eroded from the pro?le include a silici?ed sandstone bifacial knife,
a unifacial retouched chert blade ?ake, a retouched chert ?ake,
a split chert pebblewith possible utilization scars, a large retouched
basalt ?ake, two quartzite blade ?akes, a possible burin spall, and
a burinated chert biface fragment. The in situ artifacts appeared to
be in their original stratigraphic position. All of the exposed and
excavated artifacts were located at the same relative depth and
were lying ?at with respect to the overlying 2ABtxb soil horizon.
The uniform depth and orientation of the artifacts does not suggest
they are bioturbated and mixed.
The six OSL samples collected from our site yield the following
age estimates: 27,9401635 BP to 29,4851720 BP for the 2ABtxb
soil horizon; 34,7701990 BP and 40,895 2370 BP for the base of
the 2Btxb soil horizon; and 41,090 2360 BP and 40,570 2670 BP
g the eroded shoreline. Note that the site is on private property and the exact location
nd stratigraphy of the western Delmarva Peninsula, USA, Quaternary
y Sci
ARTICLE IN PRESSD.L. Lowery et al. / Quaternarfrom the surface and the base of the 3ABtb soil horizon, respectively
(see Fig. 3). The three accelerator mass spectrometry dates on
carbonized plant material from the 2ABtxb paleosol provided age
estimates of 25,818 225 cal BP (21,490140 14C BP; Beta-
236977), 32,221290 cal BP (26,920 230 14C BP; Beta-239559),
and 32,562 290 cal BP (27,240 230 14C BP; Beta-239558). The
bulk organic matter from the 2ABtxb soil horizon provided an age
estimate of 30,874 212 cal BP (25,670160 14C BP; Beta-248315).
Note that all radiocarbon calibration ageswere completed using the
curve presented in Fairbanks et al. (2005).
Soil samples collected from the 2ABtxb paleosol, above the zone
with the artifacts, contained carbonized wood fragments and
a large quantity of hair. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) anal-
yses of these materials indicated the wood fragments were of
krummholz yellow birch (Betula alleghaniensis), red spruce (Picea
rubens), and balsam ?r (Abies balsamea), and the hairs were from
the families Canidae, Felidae, and an unidenti?able source (Dr.
Barrett Rock, pers. com.). Note that the krummholz or ?twisted
wood? is a growth form exhibited by trees at locations of continued
exposure to environmental stress, such as high wind. There was no
Fig. 5. A selection of the Paleo-American artifacts found in situ
Please cite this article in press as: Lowery, D.L., et al., Late Pleistocene upla
Science Reviews (2010), doi:10.1016/j.quascirev.2010.03.007ence Reviews xxx (2010) 1e9 5evidence of recent or old animal burrows, or rodent tunnels,
detected in the bank pro?le to suggest a recent deposition of the
hair follicles. The bulk soil date from the horizon from which they
were collected is the 25,670160 14C BP reported in the previous
paragraph.
5. Discussion
Although there is an extensive body of literature regarding Late
Quaternary surface sediments at individual sites within western
Delmarva, there are few data that provide a unifying framework for
their geochronological and environmental interpretation. Because
Miles Point has the most complete stratigraphic sequence (i.e., two
paleosols and two inferred loess units) with extensive geochro-
nology based on OSL and radiocarbon dating, and artifact assem-
blages, it provides the basis by which other regional data can be
compared. When the data from Miles Point are interpreted in the
context of similar stratigraphies at other well-studied archaeolog-
ical sites in which there are two silty strata separated by an eroded
paleosol, we are able to develop a regional chronostratigraphy for
at Miles Point directly beneath the 2ABtxb soil horizon.
nd stratigraphy of the western Delmarva Peninsula, USA, Quaternary
Sci
ARTICLE IN PRESSD.L. Lowery et al. / Quaternary6the western Delmarva Peninsula that spans the last 40,000 years
(Fig. 6). Note that these correlations are between Miles Point and
the following sites with similar stratigraphic and archaeological
data shown in Fig. 1: Wye Island (Wah, 2003), Crane Point (Lowery
and Custer, 1990), Paw Paw Cove (Lowery, 1989, 1990, 2007),
Blackwalnut Point (Wah, 2003), James Island (Wah, 2003), Oyster
Cove (Wah, 2003), and Blackwater Wildlife Refuge (Walker, 2007),
and Mockhorn Island (Finkelstein and Kearney, 1988; Lowery,
2003).
The paleosol at the base of the Miles Point pro?le (3ABtb)
documents the oldest reported, Late Pleistocene paleosol in the
study region (see Fig. 6). The ca 40,000 year old OSL dates from the
Fig. 6. A synthesis of western Delmarva pedologic
Please cite this article in press as: Lowery, D.L., et al., Late Pleistocene upla
Science Reviews (2010), doi:10.1016/j.quascirev.2010.03.007ence Reviews xxx (2010) 1e9bounding silt and sand strata bracket its age, which correlates to
the early portion of marine Oxygen Isotope Stage 3 when sea
levels in the Middle Atlantic were roughly 30 meters lower
(Sheridan et al., 2001; Wright et al., 2009). Thus, it likely that this
soil formed in an upland landscape, an interpretation supported
the wet-boreal forest macro material found in ca. 35,000-year-old
peat deposits on nearby Mockhorn Island (Finkelstein and
Kearney, 1988).
Overlying the 3ABtb paleosol at Miles Point is approximately
0.63 m of silty sediments, which we designate as the ?Miles Point
Loess?. Although this loess has been well documented in all of the
aforementioned sites in Queen Annes, western Talbot, and
al, archaeological, and geochronological data.
nd stratigraphy of the western Delmarva Peninsula, USA, Quaternary
pare
wn i
y Sci
ARTICLE IN PRESSnorthwestern Dorchester Counties (see Fig. 1), it is not uniformly
distributed in western Delmarva and can only be differentiated
Fig. 7. The regional discovery contexts of (A) Paleoindian-age diagnostic artifacts com
nizable pattern that indirectly addresses the aerial extent of the Paw Paw Loess is sho
D.L. Lowery et al. / Quaternarfrom overlying silty sediments when separated by a buried surface
horizon or other de?nitive soil morphologic properties (Lowery,
2002; Wah, 2003). OSL dates from the underlying 3ABtb paleosol
and within this loess unit, along with radiocarbon dates from the
overlying paleosol, suggest that it was deposited between ca 40,000
years and 25,000 years ago. During this period, the nearby Sus-
quehanna River was a principal meltwater channel for the southern
margin of the advancing Laurentide Ice Sheet. Its discharge carried
silt and ?ne sand southward where they were deposited along
channel margins, a likely source for entrainment by westerly winds
that carried them to the east.
The paleosol formed in theMiles Point Loess is designated herein
as the ?Tilghman Soil? because of the association with correlative
units at Blackwalnut Point and Paw Paw Cove on Tilghman Island.
The 2ABtxb of the Tilghman Soil at Miles Point yielded a range of
radiocarbon dates from 32,562 290 cal BP to 25,818 225 cal BP
while the correlative soil horizons at Paw Paw Cove and Wye Island
yielded dates of 21,116 251 cal BP (17,820170 14C yr; AA-3870)
and 20,248 190 cal BP (17,070180 14C yr; Beta-165424),
respectively (Lowery, 2002; Wah, 2003). This range of dates for this
paleosol suggests relative surface stability for a period of approxi-
mately 7000 calendar years. Samples from the Paw Paw Cove pale-
osol show an increase in phytoliths associated with cold-adapted
grasslandswith some arboreal elements, such as red spruce, balsam
?r, and yellow birch, consistent with climatic expectations of this
region before and/or during the Last Glacial Maximum (Wah, 2003).
A lagof Clovis artifact assemblages on the 2ABtxb soil horizon at Paw
Paw Cove and Crane Point suggests that the paleosol may have been
much thicker and was de?ated between 18,000 and 12,700 years
ago.
The Clovis archaeological lag on the Tilghman Soil at Paw Paw
Cove and Crane Point (Fig. 6) de?nes the maximum age for the
Please cite this article in press as: Lowery, D.L., et al., Late Pleistocene upla
Science Reviews (2010), doi:10.1016/j.quascirev.2010.03.007onset of a second phase of loess deposition at ca 12,700 yrs BP,
which is a simple correlation to the youngest dated Clovis occu-
d to the discovery contexts of (B) Early Archaic-age diagnostic artifacts. Note a recog-
n panel A (gray).
ence Reviews xxx (2010) 1e9 7pation in North America (Waters and Stafford, 2007). Non-diag-
nostic artifacts at the Blackwater Wildlife Refuge and Oyster Cove
sites on the Delmarva Peninsula (see Fig. 1; Walker, 2007; Wah,
2003) and Clovis artifacts at the Cactus Hill site in southern Vir-
ginia (Wagner and McAvoy, 2004) lie on top of buried paleosols
with chronostratigraphies similar to that of Miles Point. At Cactus
Hill, three radiocarbon dates on the paleosol of 16,940 50 14C yr
(20,132 82 cal BP), 16,670 730 14C yr (19842786 cal BP), and
15,070 70 14C BP (18243177 cal BP) are younger than the dates
obtained from similar stratigraphic units on the Delmarva Penin-
sula. This second episode of loess deposition covers a larger areal
extent than the previous Miles Point Loess (Reybold, 1970; Foss
et al., 1978; Wah, 2003). We have designated this regionally
recognized silt, commonly associated with modern soil horizons, as
the ?Paw Paw Loess? based on the original archaeological discovery
made at Paw Paw Cove on Tilghman Island. We can deduce that
non-glacial sources provided the parent material, recognizing that
meltwater and sediment from the Laurentide Ice Sheet no longer
drained into the Susquehanna River watershed during this time.
Entrainment of the thick deposits of ?ne sand and silt that choked
the main channel of the Susquehanna at ca 12,340 years ago are
a likely source for this loess (Cronin, 2000). Note that this age
correlates well with the timing of the Younger Dryas climatic event
(Stuiver et al., 1995; Bjorck et al., 1998).
Although there is no direct evidence for the timing of the
termination of Paw Paw Loess at theMiles Point site, early Holocene
age archaeological remains within and at the base of the Ap soil
horizon at Paw Paw Cove, and within the BE soil horizon at Crane
Point and Oyster Cove, indicate that loess deposition ceased at ca
11,500 years ago. Within the Northeast and the Middle Atlantic,
Early Archaic-age corner-notched points and serrated projectile
points found at Paw Paw Cove, Crane Point, and Oyster Cove are
nd stratigraphy of the western Delmarva Peninsula, USA, Quaternary
pp. 130e137.
Shattuck, G.B., 1906. Maryland Geological Survey: Pliocene and Pleistocene. The
Johns Hopkins Press, Baltimore, Maryland.
Sci
ARTICLE IN PRESSidentical to the examples excavated at Dutchess Quarry Cave No. 8
in New York (Funk and Steadman, 1994) and at the Cactus Hill site
in Virginia (McAvoy and McAvoy, 1997), which are ca 11,300
calendar years old. Plants common to the warmer conditions of the
Holocene, such as pigweed, goosefoot, blackberry, grape, hackberry,
hawthorn, hickory, smartweed, and winter cress, have been iden-
ti?ed in a hearth at the Clovis-age Shawnee-Minisink site along the
west bank of the upper Delaware River in Pennsylvania; these data
suggest that the regional environment may have been relatively
warm and wet by 13,200 years ago (Gingerich, 2007).
The archaeological data not only provide geochronological
control, but also yield insight into the nature of loess deposition for
the study region. Examining the regional discovery contexts of
Paleoindian-age diagnostic artifacts compared to the discovery
contexts of Early Archaic-age diagnostic artifacts reveals a recog-
nizable pattern that indirectly addresses the aerial extent of the
Paw Paw Loess (see Fig. 7). In the northwestern section of the
Delmarva Peninsula, adjacent to the modern Chesapeake Bay and
15 miles east of the shoreline, Early Archaic-age Charleston-Palmer
notched points have been foundwithin the plowed ?elds and along
the eroded coastline. In the same area, Paleoindian-age Clovis
points have been found only along eroded coastlines. Because
Clovis points have not been found in tilled ?elds within the
northwestern section of Delmarva, it is assumed that the Paleo-
indian-age archaeological sites are present, but buried beneath the
Paw Paw Loess. Erosion along the coastline is the only way these
sites are exposed to archaeologists.
6. Conclusions
The luminescence and radiometric summaries we present
suggest that the blanket of silty sediments on the northwestern
Delmarva Peninsula was deposited on an upland landscape
between 41,000 and 13,000 years ago during a period of lower sea
levels than present. Our collective data allow us to develop
a framework for interpreting the timing of two different intervals of
loess deposition, extended periods of landscape stability during
which soils formed, and widespread erosional events for the
northwestern Delmarva Peninsula. Correlation of our data with
those at other regional locations has also permitted us to formally
de?ne the loess deposits and paleosols. The earliest loess, named
here as the Miles Point Loess, was deposited between ca 41,000 and
25,000 years ago. The paleosol formed in this loess, named here as
the Tilghman Soil, was developed in a grassland environment with
some boreal elements during a subsequent period of landscape
stability between ca 25,000 and 18,000 years ago. The Paw Paw
Loess, which is relatively uniform terminal-Pleistocene loess, was
deposited after Clovis and prior to the Early Archaic period, at ca
12,700e11,500 years ago. The Paw Paw Loess buried the lag of
Clovis-age artifacts and other archaeological remains greater than
13,200 years old. The geoarchaeological investigations within the
uplands of the northwestern Delmarva Peninsula indicate that Late
Pleistocene and Early Holocene age archaeological sites are essen-
tial for de?ning the timing and duration of Paw Paw Loess
deposition.
The local expression of a Younger Dryas-age loess deposit along
the northwestern sections of the Delmarva Peninsula seems to be
a by-product of several interrelated variables (e.g. upland erosion,
climate change, isostatic adjustments, and sea level rise). Thus, it
re?ects a localized eolian redeposition of the accumulated ?ne-
sediment within the lower Susquehanna ?oodplain into the
uplands in which we do not suggest a dominant forcing. With
respect to the timing, abruptness, and the expression of North
American loess events, the Delmarva loess record is temporally
D.L. Lowery et al. / Quaternary8more restricted and much thinner than the long-lasting and
Please cite this article in press as: Lowery, D.L., et al., Late Pleistocene upla
Science Reviews (2010), doi:10.1016/j.quascirev.2010.03.007Sheridan, R.E., Ashley, G., Miller, K., Wright, J., Uptegrove, J., Wehmiller, J., York, L.,
2001. Late Pleistocene Sea Levels Based on Sequences from the New Jersey
Continental Shelf. In: Paper Presented at the Geological Society of America
Meeting Symposium entitled: New Perspectives on the Character and Origin ofmeters-thick Middle to Late Pleistocene sequences documented in
the mid-continental and western United States (e.g., Ruhe, 1983;
Bettis et al., 2003; Mason et al., 2008; Roberts et al., 2003).
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