NOAA/WDS Paleoclimatology - Cape Lookout North Carolina Quaternary Aminostratigraphy

Amino acid enantiomeric ratio data are presented for Pleistocene mollusks obtained from a suite of core samples from both onshore and offshore sites, southeastern North Carolina. The study areaincludes vibracore samples from the Southern Outer Banks, both north and south of Cape Lookout, NC, and vibracore samples from Onslow Bay, southwest of Cape Lookout. Additional samples from onshore sites southwest of Cape Fear and from subsurface sites in Dare County, NC are used for comparison with the Cape Lookout results. Core samples have been obtained by researchers at Duke University, the University of South Florida, the US Geological Survey, East Carolina University, and the University of Delaware. Multiple aminozones are identified in the region, representing ages from early, middle, and late Pleistocene. All aminozones are recognized within the suite of cores from the Cape Lookout area, but there is a notable absence of most of the mid- to late-Pleistocene aminozones from the area south-southwest of Cape Fear. These observations suggest that the late Quaternary record is quite incomplete in the region of the Cape Fear Arch.