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Dr. Christopher K. Sommerfield
Associate Professor of Oceanography

University of Delaware
College of Marine and Earth Studies
700 Pilottown Road, Lewes, Delaware 19958
Phone: (302) 645-4255
Fax: (302) 645-4007
E-mail: cs@udel.edu


EducationResearch InterestsResearch StatementCurrent Projects
Former StudentsTeachingCurrent StudentsJournal Publications
 Technical Reports


Education

  • Ph.D., Coastal Oceanography, SUNY Stony Brook, 1997
  • M.S., Marine Environmental Sciences, SUNY Stony Brook, 1993
  • B.S., Geology, West Chester University, 1986

Research Interests

Estuarine, coastal and shelf sedimentary processes; seafloor morphodynamics and strata formation; radioisotope geochronology of sediments; sedimentary records of Holocene environmental change.

Research Statement

My research area is geological oceanography with emphasis on modern-Holocene estuarine, coastal and shelf systems. I combine oceanographic studies of sediment transport with geologic investigations of the most recent sedimentary record to understand how coastal ocean processes shape the seafloor create strata on a range of timescales. Representative topics of study include: land-to-ocean sediment delivery, sediment budgets, elucidating natural and authropogenic influences on estuarine and marine sedimentation, and fate of particle-borne pollutants in coastal waters.

Current Projects

  • Sediment Transport in the Delaware Estuary on Tidal and Seasonal Timescales.
  • Radioisotope Geochronology of Delaware Estuarn Marsh Sediments.

Former Students

  • Andrew Klingbeil, M.S., 2003, Geology
  • David Walsh M.S., 2004, Marine Studies
  • Elyse Scileppi, M.S., 2004, Marine Studies
  • Tim Cook, M.S., 2004, Marine Studies

Current Students

  • Susanne Moskalski, Ph.D.student


Teaching

  • Geological Oceanography, MAST 831
  • Coastal and Estuarine Sediment Dynamics, MAST 637
  • Coastal Consequences of Global Sea-level Rise, MAST 853/821


Journal Publications

Sommerfield, C.K. and Wheatcroft, R.A. (in press). Late Holocene sediment accumulation on the northern California shelf: Oceanic, fluvial and anthropogenic influences. Geological Society of American Bulletin.

Sommerfield, C.K. and others. (2007). Oceanic dispersal and accumulation of river sediment. In: C. Nittrouer, J.Austin, M. Field, M. Steckler, J. Syvitski, and P. Wiberg, (Eds.) Continental-Margin Sedimentation: Transport to Sequence. (in press), Blackwell Publishing.

Cook, T.L., Sommerfield, C.K. and Wong, K.C. (2007). Observations of tidal and springtime sediment transport in the upper Delaware Estuary. Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science, 72:235-246.

Sommerfield, C.K. (2006). On sediment accumulation rates and stratigraphic completeness: Lessons from Holocene ocean margins. Continental Shelf Research, 26:2225-2240.

Church, T.M., Sommerfield, C.K., Velinsky, D., Point, D., Benoit, C., Amouroux, D., Plaa, D. and Donard, O. (2006). Marsh sediments as records of sedimentation, eutrophication and metal pollution in the urban Delaware Estuary. Marine Chemistry, 102:92-95.

Goff, J.A., Austin, J. A. Jr., Gulick, S., Nordfjord, S., Christensen, B., Sommerfield, C, Olson, H. and Alexander, C.  (2005). Recent and modern marine erosion on the New Jersey outer shelf. Marine Geology. 216:275-296.

Klingbeil, A.D. and Sommerfield, C.K. (2005). Latest Holocene evolution and human disturbance of a channel segment in the Hudson River Estuary. Marine Geology, 218:135-153.

Wheatcroft, R.A. and Sommerfield, C.K. (2005). River sediment flux and shelf sediment accumulation rates on the Pacific Northwest margin. Continental Shelf Research, 25:311-332.

Nordfjord, S., Goff, J.A., Austin, J.A. and Sommerfield, C.K. (2005). Seismic geomorphology of buried channel systems on the New Jersey outer shelf: Assessing past environmental conditions. Marine Geology, 214:39-364.

Crusius, J., Bothner, M.H. and Sommerfield, C.K. 2004. Bioturbation depths, rates, and processes in Massachusetts Bay sediments inferred from modeling of 210Pb and 239Pu profiles. Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science, 61: 643 -655.

Goff, J.A., Kraft, B.J., Mayer, L.A., Schock, S.G., Sommerfield, C.K., Olson, H.C., Gulick, S.P.S. and Nordfjord, S. 2004. Seabed characterization on the New Jersey middle and outer shelf: Correlability and spatial variability of seafloor sediment properties. Marine Geology, 209: 147 -172.

Traykovski, P., Geyer, W.R. and Sommerfield, C.K. 2004. Rapid sediment deposition and fine-scale strata formation in the Hudson Estuary. Journal of Geophysical Research, 109.

Sommerfield, C.K. and Lee, H.J. 2004. Across-shelf sediment transport since the Last Glacial Maximum, southern California margin. Geology, 32(4) 345-348.

Sommerfield, C.K. and Lee, H.J. 2003. Magnitude and variability of Holocene sediment accumulation in Santa Monica Bay, California. Marine Environmental Research, 56, p. 151-187.

Sommerfield, C.K., Drake, D.E. and Wheatcroft, R.A. 2002. Shelf record of climatic changes in flood magnitude and frequency, north-coastal California. Geology, 30:5, p. 395-398.

Woodruff, J.D., Geyer, W.R., Sommerfield, C.K. and Driscoll, N. 2001. Seasonal variation of sediment deposition in the Hudson River Estuary. Marine Geology, 179, 105-119.

Sommerfield, C.K., Aller, R.C., and Nittrouer, C.A. 2001. Sedimentary carbon, sulfur, and iron relationships in modern and ancient diagenetic environments of the Eel River Basin (USA). Journal of Sedimentary Research, 71: 335-345.

Sommerfield, C.K., Alexander, C.R., and Nittrouer, C.A. 1999. 7Be as a tracer of flood sedimentation on the northern California continental margin. Continental Shelf Research, 19: 335-361.

Sommerfield, C.K. and Nittrouer, C.A. 1999. Modern accumulation rates and a sediment budget for the Eel shelf, USA: A flood-dominated depositional environment. Marine Geology, 154: 227-241.

Nittrouer, C.A., Lopez, G.R., Wright, L.D., Bentley, S.J., D'Andrea, A.F., Friedrichs, C.T., Craig, N.I. and Sommerfield, C.K. 1997. Oceanographic processes and the preservation of sedimentary structure in Eckernförde Bay, Baltic Sea. Continental Shelf Research, 18: 1689-1714.

Wheatcroft, R.A., Sommerfield, C.K., Drake, D.E., Borgeld, J.C. and Nittrouer, C.A. 1997. Rapid and widespread dispersal of flood sediment on the northern California margin. Geology, 25: 163-166.

Wheatcroft, R.A., Borgeld, J.C., Born, R.S., Drake, D.E., Leithold, E.L., Nittrouer, C.A. and Sommerfield, C.K. 1996. The anatomy of an oceanic flood deposit. Oceanography, 9: 158-162.

Bentley, S.J., Nittrouer, C.A. and Sommerfield, C.K. 1996. Development of sedimentary strata in Eckernförde Bay, southwestern Baltic Sea. Geo-Marine Letters, 16: 148-154.

Nittrouer, C.A., Kuehl, S.A., Figueiredo, A.G., Allison, M.A., Sommerfield, C.K. and Segall, M.P. 1996. The geological record formed by Amazon shelf sedimentation. Continental Shelf Research, 16: 817-841.

Sommerfield, C.K., Nittrouer, C.A. and DeMaster, D.J. 1996. Sedimentary carbon-isotope systematics on the Amazon shelf. Geo-Marine Letters, 16: 17-21.

Sommerfield, C.K., Nittrouer, C.A. and Figueiredo, A.G. 1995. Stratigraphic evidence of changes in Amazon shelf sedimentation during the Late Holocene. Marine Geology, 125: 351-371.


Technical Reports

  • Sommerfield, C.K. and Madsen, J.A. 2003. Sedimentological and geophysical survey of the Upper Delaware Estuary. Final Report to the Delaware River Basin Commission, 126 pp. Click here for pdf. (Hard copies available upon request)

Updated: March 30, 2007

 

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