Controls on sediment distribution in the coastal zone of the central California transform continental margin, USA

We use >10,000 km of high-resolution seismic-reflection data together with multibeam bathymetry to document complex and highly variable post-Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) sediment distribution and thickness in the coastal zone (~10 m isobath to 5.6 km offshore) along a ~800 km section of central California's transform continental margin. Sediment thickness ranges from 0 (seafloor bedrock) to 64 m with a mean of 8.7 m. We delineate 25 coastal zone “sediment domains,” and group them based on common geomorphology and sediment occurrence. Thickest sediment occurs in “mountain front” and “large river” domains, which comprise 14.5% and 7.9% of the coastal zone and contain 30.1% and 18.2% of coastal zone sediment, respectively. In contrast, “small river” domains and “sediment-poor shelf” domains comprise 50.7% and 15.7% of the coastal zone and contain 18.4% and 12.7% of its sediment.