This proposed study will the vertical accretion of tidal flats off western South Korea, which may provide an excellent analog for ancient mudflat sequences in the PreCambrian and lower Paleozoic. The field program, involving both current meter and coring operations, will focus on the following objectives: 1) test the hypothesis that long-term tidal channel stability is controlled by tidal-cycle and season time-scale transport processes in the bottom boundary layer; 2) document the net flux of sediment between the tidal channel systems and adjacent mudflats; 3) determine the relationship between physical processes and the resultant lithology and structure preserved in the sediment column.
