DELINEATION OF HISTORICAL “NEW INLET”,DEBIDUE ISLAND, SOUTH CAROLINA

摘要

New Inlet was an historical inlet in Georgetown County, South Carolina that closedrnprior to 1820 (Robert Mills, 1825). New Inlet delineated the property boundary between tworncontiguous rice plantations along Debidue Island. Although the inlet had closed by 1820, itsrnformer location was delineated in 1844. Strict attention was not paid to accurate mapping of thisrndelineation because oceanfront property was not of economic importance in the early 19thrncentury. As a result, a land boundary dispute between two contiguous parcels of land arose.rnUsing historical maps, plats, and aerial photographs, an approximate historical position of therninlet was initially identified using Geographic Information System technology.rnGeophysical and sedimentological data were collected in May 2000 and May 2002. A total ofrn3.6 km of ground penetrating radar (GPR) profiles and sixty-five samples were collected torncharacterize the sub-surface geology. Four organic samples were radiocarbon dated to prove arnchronology for the evolution of the barrier and tidal inlet system. Dendrology was performed onrntwo trees to verify the geological data.rnA paleo-inlet channel 3.4 m deep and 60 m wide was identified 280 m south of the currentrnproperty boundary and is believed to be the former “New Inlet”. The grain size data indicate thatrnsediments within the paleo-channel are indicative of channel lag containing moderately sorted,rnmedium to coarse-grained sands, quartz pebbles and shell hash. GPR and sedimentological datarnsuggest that “New Inlet” was a small ephemeral inlet approximately 1 m deep and 40-60 m wide.