Variability of Sediment Accumulation Rates in an Antarctic Fjord

Recent changes in sediment accumulation rates in Adventfjorden, Svalbard*

Recent sediment accumulation rates in Adventfjorden (Svalbard), a small subpolar fjord, were determined by Pb and Cs dating. Modern rates in the central basin decrease downfjord from 1.87 to 0.87 cm y−1 (2.6 to 1.19 g cm−2 y−1). Comparison of the modern values (1986–2001) with older ones (1963–86) reveals a marked increase in sediment accumulation rates in the last ten years. This correlates we...

The Influence of Hiatuses on Sediment Accumulation Rates

Hiatuses pervade the stratigraphic record at all scales from grain boundaries to inter-regional unconformities. Every attempt to measure a rate of accumulation must average together sediment increments and surfaces of hiatus. As the time span of measurement lengthens, longer hiatuses tend to be incorporated into the estimated rate. Consequently, short term rates are systematically faster than l...

Short-term sediment accumulation rates determined from Eocene alluvial paleosols

A new method uses alluvial paleosols to calculate sediment accumulation rates for thin (25 m) stratigraphic intervals and allows the reliable interpolation of ages for stratigraphic levels within a thick stratigraphic interval bounded by established dates. Sediment accumulation rates calculated for a 650 m composite section in the Eocene Willwood Formation of Wyoming span time intervals ranging...

Accumulation of Sediment in Reservoirs

Benthic colonization in newly ice-free soft-bottom areas in an Antarctic fjord

Extended glacier retreat is among the main consequences of the rapid warming of the West Antarctic Peninsula. Particularly, in the inner part of Potter Cove (South Shetland Islands, Antarctica) large areas are now exposed to open sea conditions owing to the retreat of Fourcade glacier. During the 2010 austral summer, underwater photographic surveys were undertaken by SCUBA diving up to 30 m in ...