Sedimentary Development of Coral Bay, St. John, USVI: A Shift From Natural to Anthropogenic Influences
Authors:
- Gregg R. BrooksGBGregg R. Brooks
- Barry DevineBDBarry Devine
- Rebekka A. LarsonRLRebekka A. Larson
- Bryan P. RoodBRBryan P. Rood
- 1 January 2007
- journal article
- Published by University of Puerto Rico at Mayaguez in Caribbean Journal of Science
- Vol. 43 (2) , 226-243
Abstract
Analyses of sediment cores and surface samples collected in Coral Bay, St. John, USVI, reveal four sedimentary facies. The bottom three reflect the natural transgressive evolution of the bay during the Holocene sea-level rise. The surficial facies represents a dramatic increase in terrigenous sediment input since the 1950's. This surficial layer is defined by a decrease in grain size, increase in organic content, increase in terrigenous constituents, and subtle decrease in calcium carbonate content compared to underlying sediments. Based upon 210Pb and 14C dating, accumulation rates have increased by roughly one order-of--magnitude since the 1950's as a result of this increase in terrigenous sediment input. The surficial sediment layer likely represents an anthropogenic signal reflecting the dramatic increase in island development over the past few decades. The surficial “impacted” layer is most pronounced (i.e., exhibits the greatest deviation from underlying sediments) adjacent to the most hea...Keywords
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