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Steve Kuehl
Email
kuehl@vims.edu
Office
Holben House 104
Phone
(804) 684-7118

Link to Dr. Kuehl's lab website -
Sediment Geochronology
and Seabed Processes

Steven A. Kuehl

  • Professor of Marine Science
  • B.A., Lafayette College ,1979
  • M.S., North Carolina State University, 1982
  • Ph.D., North Carolina State University, 1985

Research Interests

Primary research in my lab centers on sediment dispersal and the accumulation of fine-grained sediments in continental margin environments.

The formation of marine sedimentary strata rarely results from the simple settling of sedimentary material to the sea floor, but rather from the complex interaction of physical, chemical, and biological processes operating in the marine environment. These processes, such as resuspension and biological mixing, impart characteristic signatures to the sediment and control the burial and preservation of important sedimentary components such as organic carbon and anthropogenic materials. We are investigating the characteristics of recent sedimentary strata on spatial scales ranging from less than a mm to 100's of meters and on temporal scales from seconds to 1,000's of years in a variety of continental margin environments.

In addition to projects currently being carried out in Chesapeake Bay, I am also focused on sediment dispersal from tectonically active continental margins. Areas such as the North Island, New Zealand, which discharge huge volumes of sediment to narrow continental shelves where, presumably, active bypassing to the deep sea occurs.



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Current Projects

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Selected Publications

Kuehl, S.A., Allison, M.A., Goodbred, S.L. and Kudrass, H., 2005. The Ganges-Brahmaputra Delta, In: River Deltas - Concepts, Models, and Examples (L. Gosian and J. Bhattacharya, eds.), SEPM Special Publication No. 83, p. 413-434.

Kuehl, S.A., Brunskill, G.J., Burns, K., Fugate, D., Kiniskern, T. and Meneghini, L., 2004. Nature of sediment dispersal off the Sepik River, Papua New Guinea: preliminary sediment budget and implications for margin processes, Continental Shelf Research, 24:2417-2429.

Kuehl, S.A., Carter, L., Gomez, B. and Trustrum, N., 2003, Holistic Approach Offers Potential to Quantify Mass Fluxes Across Continental Margins, Eos, 84, No. 38, 379/388.

Kniskern, T.A., and S.A. Kuehl, 2003. Spatial and temporal variability of seabed disturbance in the York River subestuary, Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science, 58: 37-55.

Dellapenna, T.M., Kuehl, S.A., and Schaffner, L.C., 2003. Ephemeral deposition, seabed mixing and fine-scale strata formation in the York River estuary, Chesapeake Bay, 58: 621-643.

Goodbred, S.L. and Kuehl, S.A., 2003. The production, transport, and accumulation of sediment: a cross-section of recent developments with an emphasis on climate effects, Sedimentary Geology, 162: 1-3.

Allison, M.A., Khan, S.R., Goodbred, S.L., and Kuehl, S.A., 2003. Stratigraphic evolution of the late Holocene Ganges-Brahmaputra lower delta plain. Sedimentary Geology, 155: 317-342.

Goodbred, S.L., Kuehl, S.A., Steckler, M.S., and Sarker, M.H., 2003. Controls on facies distribution and stratigraphic preservation in the Ganges-Brahmaputra delta sequence. Sedimentary Geology, 155: 301-316.

Heroy, D.C., Kuehl, S.A., and Goodbred, S.L., 2003. Mineralogy of the Ganges and Brahmaputra Rivers: implications for river switching and Late Quaternary climate change. Sedimentary Geology, 155: 343-359.

Neubauer, S.C., Anderson, I.C., Constantine, J.A., and Kuehl, S.A., 2002. Sediment deposition and accretion in a Mid-Atlantic (U.S.A.) tidal freshwater marsh. Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science, 54:713-727.

Orpin, A.R., Carter, L., Kuehl, S.A., Trustrum, N.A., Lewis, K.B., Alexander, C.R., and Gomez, B., 2002. Deposition from very high sediment yield New Zealand rivers is captured in upper margin basins. MARGINS, 9:1-4.

Dellapenna, T.M., Kuehl, S.A., and Pitts, L, 2001. Transient, longitudinal, sedimentary furrows in the York River subestuary, Chesapeake Bay: Furrow evolution and effects on seabed mixing and sediment transport. Estuaries, 24:215-227.

Smith and Kuehl, S.A., 2001. Physical energy regimes, seabed dynamics and organism-sediment interactions along an estuarine gradient. In: J.Y. Aller, S.A. Woodin and R.C. Aller (eds.), Organism-Sediment Interactions, University of South Carolina Press, Columbia, SC. Belle W. Baruch Library in Marine Science, no. 21.

Goodbred, S.L. and Kuehl, S.A., 2000. Enormous Ganges-Brahmaputra sediment discharge during strengthened early Holocene monsoon. Geology, 28:1083-1086.

Kineke, G.C., Woolfe, Kuehl, S.A., Milliman, J.D., Dellapenna, T.M., and Purdon, R.G., 2000. Sediment export from the Sepik River, Papua New Guinea: Evidence for a divergent dispersal system. Continental Shelf Research, 20:2239-2266.

Goodbred, S.L. and Kuehl, S.A., 2000. The significance of large sediment supply, active tectonism and eustasy on margin sequence development: Late Quaternary stratigraphy and evolution of the Ganges-Brahmaputra delta. Sedimentary Geology, 133:227-248.

Dellapenna, T.M., Kuehl, S.A., and Schaffner, L.C., 1998. Seabed mixing and particle residence times in biologically and physically dominated estuarine systems: A comparison of lower Chesapeake Bay and the York River subestuary. Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science, 46:777-795.

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Current Students

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Past Students

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Courses Taught/Teaching

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Faculty/Student Awards

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Professional Memberships

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Collaborative/Interdisciplinary Efforts