The Pleistocene slope sediments off New Jersey consist of upward-coarsening and upward-thickening sedimentary cycles formed in response to glacio-eustatic sea-level changes and form a progradational slope clinoform. Each sedimentary cycle is bounded by heavily bioturbated or homogeneous fine-grained sediments characterized by lighter and bluish sediments deposited during the highstand of sea level. The cycle is dominated by darker and yellowish, laminated or thin, color-banded, coarse-grained sediments, including contorted or slumped structures. Related to the Quaternary sea-level changes, slope sediments were mainly deposited and prograded during the lowstands in sea level. The fine-grained sediments deposited during the highstand of sea level are characteristic and easily traceable bounding surfaces for slope successions. Therefore, it is interpreted, from a sequence stratigraphic view, that most progradational slope strata are formed as lowstand system tracts or shelf margin system tracts, not highstand system tracts.

Date of initial receipt: 6 March 1995
Date of acceptance: 11 August 1995

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