Sedimentation in a tropical fjord: Golfo Dulce, Costa Rica

Abstract.

Sedimentation processes in Golfo Dulce, a periodically anoxic fjord-like embayment on the Pacific coast of Costa Rica, have been investigated by analyses of surface sediments and 3.5-m-long sediment cores. The large proportion of non-biogenic material (>90%) reflects the dominance of terrigenous sediment input to Golfo Dulce. Biogenic components such as organic carbon and carbonate are also supplied from terrigenous sources. The two components, however, originate from different parts of the coast surrounding the gulf. The sediment cores did not show any laminated sections. The sediments can be divided into turbiditic basin deposits and almost undisturbed, hemipelagic slope deposits.