Journal of the Geological Society, London, Vol. 147, 1990, pp. 743-745, 1 fig.
Printed in Northern Ireland
SHORT PAPER
The formation of coastal peat marshes
under an upward tendencyof relative
sea-level
J. R . L. ALLEN
Postgraduate Research Institute for Sedimentology,
The University, Reading, Berks RG62AB, U K
- dt dt dt dt dt
The upward growth of a tidpl mudat-marsh within the tidal frame
is determined theoretidy by therates of minerogenicsediment
supply, organogenic sediment supply, long-range sediment compac-
tion and movement of relative sea-level. Where the movement of
relative sea-level is upward, a marsh can achieve a state of dynamic
equilibrium in which the composition of the sediment accumulating
on its surface is governed by the balancebetweentherates of
organogenicsupplyand sea-level change. A peat(organogenic)
marsh should arise where the former rate roughly e q d s or exceeds
the hlter. A minerogenicmarsh shouldformwhere the rate of
sea-level rise is dominant, even though the absolute availability of
mineral h e sediment may be so high PS to appear to suggest that
build-up to extreme tidal levels, where vegetation would dominate,
should have occurred.
Today and in the recent geological past,
an upward
tendency of relative sea-level is evident in southern Britain
(Devoy 1979; Shennan 1983, 1986; Emery & Aubrey 1985;
Newman & Baeteman 1987; Woodworth 1987; Allen & Rae
1988) and along most of the East Coast of North America
(Aubrey & Emery 1983; Hicks et al. 1983; Stevenson et al.
1986). Tidal marshes are widespread and locally extensive in
estuarine,back-barrier and open-coastalsettings in these
regions (Chapman 1960). AsJohnson (1925) remarked of
American East Coastsystems, the marshesinsome areas
are minerogenic (Fundy type), whereas elsewhere they are
organogenic (New England type) andunderlain by thick salt
peats; certain areas are of a mixed character (Coastal Plain
type). Todays coastal andestuarine marshes in southern
Britain (Steers 1964) are exclusively minerogenic, as
exemplified by those of the Wash (Evans 1965), the Norfolk
Coast(Steers 1960; Pethick 1981) and the Severn Estuary
(Allen & Rae 1987).
Huge amounts of the fine sediment have become trapped
beneath the tidal marshes of these and similar regions. In
any attempt to understand the controls on coastal
sedimentary facies, it is therefore natural to enquire as to
why, where the tendency of relative sea-level is upward, an
organic-dominatedmarshshould occur in one part of the
American East Coast when,
in another
portion, a Hawkins et al. (1989)).
mineral-dominated one has arisen.
Regarding southern
Britain, we may ask why todays marshes are wholly
minerogenic, whereasinmid-Flandriantimessubstantial
peats repeatedly arose (e.g. Murray & Hawkins 1976). This
note suggests, from a consideration of general principles,
that the outcomemay depend on therelative strength of the
organogenic supply and the upward sea-level movement.
Basic
equation
mudllat-marsh
for upward growth.
Mudflats grading upinto saltmarshesarisein the high
intertidal zone of open coasts in response tothe growth
and movement of sheltering barrier islands and spits and,
743
in estuaries, because of either infilling, channel wandering
or climatically controlled cycles of shoreline retreatand
advance.
Relative to a tidal frame (Fig. la) moving with sea-level,
the local elevation E of the upward-growing mudflat-marsh
surface vanes with time t according tothe differential
equation, introduced by Allen (1990) in another connection,
d E dSmi. dS,,
-=-+ dMdP
(1)
in which dS,, is the thickness of added minerogenic
sediment, dS,,, the thickness of added organogenic material,
dM the change in relative sea-level (an upward tendency is
treated as positive) and d P the shortening of the column of
sediment between the surface and base of the mudflat-marsh
sequence due to long-range compaction (i.e. compaction
duetoload, unrelated to short-term tidal and seasonal
drying).
The first tworight-handtermsdescribe the sediment
supply. Wemodel the minerogenic termonthe main
assumption that each tide drowning the mudflat-marsh
provides a column of water, fed with mineral particles by
convection and diffusion, in morphological and hydraulic
analogy with river floodplains (Knight 1989), from which
sediment settles at a rate controlled by the particle fractional
volume concentration and characteristicsettling velocity.
Thisterm is a very strongly decreasing function of the
surface elevation; as the mudflat-marsh rises higher within
the tidal frame, it is drowned by progressively fewer tides
and for progressively shorter periods at a time (e.g. Hartnoll
& Hawkins 1982). Note that, ignoring storm effects,
minerogenic sediment can be suppliedonly up to thelevel of
the highest astronomical tide. The organogenic term
represents the sum of root matter and of surface litter;
organic detritus suspended in the tidal waters is subsumed in
the minerogenic term. Surface elevation exerts a control on
the organogenic term, becausehalophyte species donot
grow below a certaintidal level, commonly toward mean
high-water neaps, and are zoned within the tidal range (e.g.
Long & Mason 1983). The organogenic term, however, is
expected tobe only a weakly increasing function of the
surface elevation,incontrast tothestrong minerogenic
effect of opposite tendency.
Exceptwhere the organogenic termhas beenover-
whelmingly dominant from the start of upward growth, the
compaction term is notexpected to be other than a very
weakly increasing function of surface position. This is
because earlypost-depositional drying of mudflat-marsh
sediments on tidal to seasonal scales tendsto provide a
deposit which, for its general lithology and thickness, is very
well consolidated (e.g. Severn Estuary-Bristol Channel,
The sea-level term is the only one independent of
mudflat-marsh growth processes. In areas where the
tendency of relative mean sea-level is upward, for example
the Gulf Coast and East Coast seaboards of North America
and in southern Britain, the present rate is generally in the
range 10-3-10-2 m a- (e.g. Hicks et al. 1983; Woodworth
1987).
Peatformation on salt marshes. Other than being an un-
lithified, plant-dominated sediment,there is no general
agreement as to how peat should be defined composition-
ally, and it is here taken to be a material containing 75%
l44 SHORT PAPER
2 4 * 10-3 2 4
rate of organogenic sedimentation (m a-l)
(dry mass) ormore of organic matter.Theremainder is
minerogenic.
An inspection of Eq. (1) will show whether or not a peat
so defined can form in a tidal setting when relative sea-level
is rising. Two issues are relevant. First, under what
circumstances will a mudflat-marsh build up to a state of
dynamic equilibrium, thatis, can it rise to a constant
elevation relative to the tidal frame? Secondly, under what
conditions is thebalancebetweenthe minerogenic and
organogenic supplies to that surface such as to create peat?
The required state of dynamic equilibrium is equivalent
to putting dE/dt = 0 in Eq. (1). We then see that dynamic
equilibrium is possible when the minerogenic term is zero,
provided thatthe organogenicsupply precisely balances
compaction and sea-level rise combined.Equilibrium is
attainable, however, only after an infinitely long time, when
the marsh will have ascended to the elevation of the highest
astronomical tide (nil minerogenic supply). When the
organogenic term falls below the combined sea-level and
compaction terms, equilibrium becomes possible in a finite
time,because the value of the minerogenic termthen
satisfying dE/dt = 0 is non-zero. Thestable equilibrium
surface consequently forms at an elevation below that of the
highest astronomical tide,thedegree of its depression
increasing with the deficit between the organogenic and the
combined sea-level and compaction terms.
The sedimentsteadilydeposited on this dynamically
stable surface has a constant composition determined by the
relative importance of the two sediment terms in Eq. (1).
Further substituting dS,,,,/dt = k(dS,,Jdt), where k > 0 is a
coefficient, the condition that the depositmeetscomposi-
tionally some chosen definition of a peat (organogenic
marsh) is
(a)
hiahesl astronomical tide
lowest astronomical tide
Fig. 1. Control exerted by the rate of
\ organogenic sediment supplyon the
non-dimensional elevationof an equi-
librium marsh relative to the tidal frame,
when the sediment formingon the marsh
just qualifies as a peat (75% by dry
weight of organic matter). The charac-
2 teristic sediment fractional volume con-
centration refers to the minerogenic fine
sediment suspended in the tidal waters.
The numerical value of k depends on (1) the weight percent
of organic matter required by the definition, (2) the solids
density of the mineral particles and organic matter, and (3)
the fractional porosity of the depositedmaterialbefore
'long-range' compaction. For peat as above, quartz-density
mineral matter and an intermediate fractional porosity (say,
0.4), k is approximately 0.18. When the inequality is not
satisfied, the proportion of organic matter falls below that
allowing the deposit on the equilibrium marsh to be called
peat. The marsh is then minerogenic.
Some ealcnletions. It is interesting to attempt to estimate,
forreal mudflat-marsh systems, at what actualelevation
relative to the tidal frame a peat could form under condi-
tions of dynamic equilibrium and of rising relativesea-
level.
Assuming the independent sea-level term to be constant
and thatthe organogenic and compactionterms are also
constant on account of the expected nature of the functions,
Eq. (1) was integrated numerically for the known tidal and
fine-sediment regimes of the SevernEstuary in southwest
Britain.Although severely macrotidal, the estuaryhas a
typical semi-diurnal tidal regime (Pugh 1987), as shown by
the predictedastronomical tides for thestandardport of
Avonmouth (e.g. Hydrographer of the Navy 1988). The
main features are an extreme tidal range of 14.8 m, mean
spring and neap ranges of 12.3 m and 6.5 m respectively,
mean high-water springs of 13.2 m above tidal datum and
mean high-water neaps of 10.0m.Theestuarine waters
contain much flocculated silt and clay which, with varying
degrees of time lag, changesinconcentration with tidal
height on semidiurnal, semilunar, lunar and seasonal time
scales (Hydraulics Research Station 1981; Kirby 1986). The
characteristicparticlefractionalvolumeconcentration and
settling velocity, however, are 2.25 X 10-4 and 2.5 X
10-4m S-' respectively. The minerogenicterm is then
 J . R. L . ALLEN 745

calculated from these base values on introducing (1) I thank H. Begg for the calculations underlying Fig. 1 . The work
empirical loading factors accounting for observed variations waspartlysupportedbyaResearchGrantfrom theNational
in concentration with season and tidal height,and (2) an Environment Research Council, which is gratefully acknowledged.
empirical factor allowing forsome wave- andcurrent- Reading University PRIS contribution No. 063.
controllednon-deposition and resuspension of the tidal
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Received 7 March 1990; revised type script accepted 16 April 1990.