Geophysical Investigation at the Mouth of the St. Joseph River Valley and Adjacent Lake Michigan Shoreline in St. Joseph and Benton Harbor, Michigan

Author

David L. Seng, Western Michigan University

Date of Award

4-1995

Degree Name

Master of Science

Department

Geological and Environmental Sciences

First Advisor

Dr. William A. Sauck

Second Advisor

Dr. Thomas Straw

Third Advisor

Dr. William B. Harrison III

Access Setting

Masters Thesis-Open Access

Abstract

A combination of geophysical methods were employed in an attempt to characterize a small section of the shoreline of the St. Joseph, Michigan, region of the Lake Michigan shoreline. Electrical resistivity and Ground Penetrating Radar profiles conducted along the shoreline and within the nearshore environment reveal a buried valley of the ancestral St. Joseph river. This valley represents incision of the channel during lowered lake levels at the end of the Pleistocene.

Lakeward dipping radar reflectors are identified throughout the study site. Within the buried valley the reflectors are not glacial till as is the case outside the inferred valley boundaries. Thick sand sequences, channel fill, channel forms and bedding structures as identified by reflection terminations support the presence of a buried valley. Electrical resistivity measurements indicate a valley width of greater than 3.5 km and a depth of approximately 30 meters.

Recommended Citation

Seng, David L., "Geophysical Investigation at the Mouth of the St. Joseph River Valley and Adjacent Lake Michigan Shoreline in St. Joseph and Benton Harbor, Michigan" (1995). Masters Theses. 4023.
https://scholarworks.wmich.edu/masters_theses/4023