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A diatom chronology for sediments in a high accumulation rate environment: Rupert Inlet, British Columbia 1
Author(s) -
Hay Alex E.,
Waters Rosemary
Publication year - 1985
Publication title -
limnology and oceanography
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.7
H-Index - 197
eISSN - 1939-5590
pISSN - 0024-3590
DOI - 10.4319/lo.1985.30.4.0898
Subject(s) - frustule , diatom , settling , oceanography , inlet , sediment , phytoplankton , chlorophyll a , geology , bloom , environmental science , biology , paleontology , ecology , nutrient , botany , environmental engineering
Concentration profiles of large diatoms in gravity cores from the rapidly accumulating mine tailing deposit in Rupert Inlet exhibit variations with sediment depth which are ascribed to seasonal effects. Time‐series of near‐surface chlorophyll a measurements and phytoplankton cell counts, together with observations of an unusually massive bloom of Coscinodiscus gigas, are used to attribute peak concentrations of frustules of C. gigas, Coscinodiscus centralis, and Coscinodiscus radiatus in the sediments to late spring‐midsummer and early fall blooms of these species. Sediment accumulation rates estimated from the frustule concentration profiles range from 57 to 120 cm yr −1 and are similar to rates obtained from bathymetric and continuous seismic profiling surveys. From these rates it is inferred that very fine laminae (about 0.1 mm thick) may be tidally induced, and a rough estimate of 5 m d −1 is made for the in situ settling velocity of C. gigas.