About This Episode
He explains a theory that places the Carolina Bays on the leeward side of ancient barrier islands, where salt marshes would have existed during periods of higher sea levels roughly 125,000 years ago. He suggests a simple field test — digging into the bays to look for preserved salt marsh mud or salt deposits — as a way to determine whether these features were once estuaries. The conversation highlights how basic observation and fieldwork can help test geological hypotheses without expensive equipment. Watch full episode here: https://youtu.be/T91_7PIKtmE #austinandmattpodcast #austinandmatt #podcastclips #podcast #CarolinaBays #Geology #EarthScience #AncientSeaLevels #FieldResearch
Questions Answered in This Episode
How can you test if a Carolina Bay was once a salt marsh?
You can dig into a Carolina Bay and look for pluff mud or black marsh mud, which are indicative of a salt marsh estuary. Finding salt in the soil would further support the idea that the Carolina Bay was once a salt marsh.
Where would Carolina Bays have been located relative to barrier islands?
Carolina Bays would have been located on the leeward side (back side) of barrier islands, similar to how estuaries or salt marshes are situated today.
What evidence would indicate a Carolina Bay survived from a time when sea levels were higher?
The presence of preserved black marsh mud within the Carolina Bay indicates that it was filled in and survived from a time when sea levels were higher than they are today (e.g., 125,000 years ago).
What is the relationship between Carolina Bays and estuaries?
Carolina Bays, in certain instances, would have functioned as estuaries, similar to salt marshes found on the leeward side of barrier islands today. The leeward side of the island is like a salt marsh.
What material found in a Carolina Bay would help preserve it over time?
Black marsh mud, found by digging in the Carolina Bay, would actually help preserve the Carolina Bay over time.
Topics
Full Transcript
There's actually a series of bays right here. I think this is really important because these Carolina bays um would have been on the back side of a barrier island. And just like today, you have the beach on on the the windward side. The leeward side of the island is an estuary. It's like a salt marsh. And 125,000 years ago, this area right here would have been a salt marsh. Uh, and and a really easy way to test that, maybe somebody can go do it tomorrow, is to dig in some of these Carolina bays and find pluff marshm find mud from a Carolina or from from a a salt marsh estuary that would have been there the last time sea levels were higher than today. I think you're going to find So, you just dig in and you find a bunch of salt. Basically, you don't even need to have like a like a like a a core, you know, like spend all the money and get it. bring a shovel, dig a hole, find salt, and if there is black marsh mud, then we know that that Carolina biz was there and it was filled in and it survived. It would actually preserve the Carolina Bay um over time. So, that's a really quick and easy way to kind of kind of prove that.