Abstract
We report a new approach to locate and quantify cryptotephra in sedimentary archives using a continuously-imaging Flow Cytometer and Microscope (FlowCAM®). The FlowCAM rapidly photographs particles flowing in suspension past a microscope lens and performs semi-automated analysis of particle images. It has had primarily biological applications, although the potential sedimentological applications are numerous. Here we test the ability of this instrument to image irregularly shaped, vesicular glass shards and to screen sediment samples for the presence of cryptotephra. First, reference samples of basalt and rhyolite tephra (sieved <63 μm) were analyzed with the FlowCAM, demonstrating the ability of the instrument to photograph individual tephra shards. The highest-quality images were used to create a reference library of tephra particles, against which other particle morphologies could be automatically compared. Lake sediment samples with known concentrations of tephra were then analyzed. The tephra image library was used to perform pattern recognition calculations, automatically distinguishing tephra-like images from other particles in the sediment samples. The number of tephra shards identified by the FlowCAM technique was compared to manual counting using a polarizing light microscope, demonstrating that this rapid approach is capable of determining the relative concentrations of tephra in a given sediment sample. However, the FlowCAM systematically underestimates tephra concentrations relative to manual counts. We conclude that with a well-developed image library, the FlowCAM can be an effective tool for cryptotephra and sedimentological applications, but it may be inappropriate for large volume samples or if particle morphologies are outside the range of the image library.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Abbott PM, Davies SM, Austin WEN, Pearce NJG, Hibbert FD (2011) Identification of cryptotephra horizons in a North East Atlantic marine record spanning marine isotope stages 4 and 5a (60,000–82,000 a b2k). Quat Int 246:177–189
Álvarez E, Lopez-Urrutia Á, Nogueira E, Fraga S (2011) How to effectively sample the plankton size spectrum? A case study using the FlowCAM. J Plankton Res 33:1119–1133
Andrews JT, Eberl DD, Kristjansdottir GB (2006) An exploratory method to detect tephras from quantitative XRD scans: examples from Iceland and east Greenland marine sediments. Holocene 16:1035–1042
Balascio NL (2011) Lacustrine records of Holocene climate and environmental change from the Lofoten Islands, Norway. Ph.D. Dissertation. University of Massachusetts Amherst
Balascio NL, Wickler S, Narmo LE, Bradley RS (2011a) Distal cryptotephra found in a Viking boathouse: the potential for tephrochronology in reconstructing the Iron Age in Norway. J Archaeological Sci 38:934–941
Balascio NL, Zhang Z, Bradley RS, Perren B, Dahl SO, Bakke J (2011b) A multi-proxy approach to assessing isolation basin stratigraphy from the Lofoten Islands, Norway. Quat Res 75:288–300
Barofsky A, Simonelli P, Vidoudez C (2010) Growth phase of the diatom Skeletonema marinoi influences the metabolic profile of the cells and the selective feeding of the copepod Calanus spp. J Plankton Res 32:263–272
Brown L (2004) Continuous imaging fluid particle analysis—a primer. Fluid imaging technologies white paper. http://fluidimaging.com
Brown L (2008) Particle image understanding—a primer. Fluid Imaging Technologies, Yarmouth, ME
Brown L (2010a) VisualSpreadsheet©: intelligent pattern recognition for particle analysis. Fluid Imaging Technologies VisualSpreadsheet© Particle Analysis Software Product Literature. http://fluidimaging.com
Brown L (2010b) VisualSpreadsheet©: interactive, intuitive particle analysis software. Fluid Imaging Technologies VisualSpreadsheet© Particle Analysis Software Product Literature. http://fluidimaging.com
Brown L (2011a) Characterizing biologics using dynamic imaging particle analysis. BioPharm Int 24:4–9
Brown L (2011b) FlowCAM tech brief: proper thresholding of transparent particles. Fluid imaging technologies tech briefs. http://fluidimaging.com
Buskey EJ, Hyatt CJ (2006) Use of the FlowCAM for semiautomated recognition and enumeration of red tide cells (Karenia brevis) in natural plankton samples. Harmful Algae 5:685–692
Calanchi N, Cattaneo A, Dinelli E, Gasparotto G, Lucchini F (1998) Tephra layers in late quaternary sediments of the central Adriatic Sea. Mar Geol 149:191–209
Carter L, Manighetti B (2006) Glacial/interglacial control of terrigenous and biogenic fluxes in the deep ocean off a high input, collisional margin: a 139 kyr-record from New Zealand. Mar Geol 226:307–322
Carter L, Manighetti B, Elliot M, Trustrum N, Gomez B (2002) Source, sea level and circulation effects on the sediment flux to the deep ocean over the past 15 ka off eastern New Zealand. Glob Planet Change 33:339–355
D’Andrea WJ, Vaillencourt DA, Balascio NL, Werner A, Roof SR, Retelle M, Bradley RS (2012) Mild little ice age and unprecedented recent warmth in an 1800 year lake sediment record from Svalbard. Geology 40:1007–1010
De Vleeschouwer F, van Vliët-Lanoé B, Fagel N, Richter T, Boës X (2008) Development and application of high-resolution petrography on resin-impregnated Holocene peat columns to detect and analyse tephras, cryptotephras, and other materials. Quat Int 178:54–67
Dugmore AJ, Newton AJ (1992) Thin tephra layers in peat revealed by X-radiography. J Archaeol Sci 19:163–170
Dugmore AJ, Larsen G, Newton AJ (1995) Seven tephra isochrones in Scotland. The Holocene 5:257–266
Enache MD, Cumming BF (2006) The morphological and optical properties of volcanic glass: a tool to assess density-induced vertical migration of tephra in sediment cores. J Paleolimnol 35:661–667
Ersoy O, Gourgaud A, Aydar E, Chinga G, Thouret J-C (2007) Quantitative scanning-electron microscope analysis of volcanic ash surfaces: application to the 1982–1983 Galunggung eruption (Indonesia). Geol Soc Am Bull 119:743–752
Gehrels MJ, Newnham RM, Lowe DJ, Wynne S, Hazell ZJ, Caseldine C (2008) Towards rapid assay of cryptotephra in peat cores: review and evaluation of various methods. Quat Int 178:68–84
Grönvold K, Óskarsson N, Johnsen SJ, Clausen HB, Hammer CU, Bond G, Bard E (1995) Ash layers from Iceland in the Greenland GRIP ice core correlated with oceanic and land sediments. Earth Planet Sci Lett 135:149–155
Haflidason H, Eiriksson J, Van Kreveld S (2000) The tephrochronology of Iceland and the North Atlantic region during the Middle and Late Quaternary: a review. J Quat Sci 15:3–22
Hall VA, Pilcher JR (2002) Late-Quaternary Icelandic tephras in Ireland and Great Britain: detection, characterization and usefulness. Holocene 12:223–230
Heiken G (1972) Morphology and petrography of volcanic ashes. Geol Soc Am Bull 83:1961–1988
Heiken G (1974) An atlas of volcanic ash. Smithson Contrib Earth Sci 12:1–101
Heiken G, Wohletz KH (1985) Volcanic ash. University of California Press, Berkeley, CA
Ide K, Takahashi K, Kuwata A, Nakamachi M, Saito H (2008) A rapid analysis of copepod feeding using FlowCAM. J Plankton Res 30:275–281
Jennings AE, Gronvold K, Hilberman R, Smith M, Hald M (2002) High resolution study of Icelandic tephras in the Kangerlussuaq trough, southeast Greenland, during the last deglaciation. J Quat Sci 17:747–757
Jude-Eton T, Thordarson T, Gudmundsson MT, Oddsson B (2012) Dynamics, stratigraphy and proximal dispersal of supraglacial tephra during the ice-confined 2004 eruption at Grímsvötn Volcano, Iceland. Bull Volc 74:1057–1082
Kido Y, Koshikawa T, Tada R (2006) Rapid and quantitative major element analayis method for wet fine-grained sediments using and XRF microscanner. Mar Geol 229:209–225
Lowe DJ (2011) Tephrochronology and its application: a review. Quat Geochron 6:107–153
Lowe DJ, Hunt JB (2001) A summary of terminology used in tephra-related studies. Les Dossiers de l’Archeo-Logis 1:17–22
Meara R (2011) Climatic and environmental impact of Holocene silicic explosive eruptions in Iceland. Ph.D. Thesis. University of Edinburgh, p 324
Pilcher JR, Hall VA, McCormac FG (1996) An outline tephrochronology for the Holocene of the north of Ireland. J Quat Sci 11:485–494
Pilcher J, Bradley RS, Francus P, Anderson L (2005) A Holocene tephra record from the Lofoten Islands, Arctic Norway. Boreas 34:136–156
Sieracki C, Sieracki ME, Yentsch CS (1998) An imaging-in-flow system for automated analysis of marine microplankton. Mar Ecol Prog Ser 168:285–296
Sterling MC Jr, Bonner JS, Ernest ANS, Page CA, Autenrieth RL (2004) Characterizing aquatic sediment–oil aggregates using in situ instruments. Mar Poll Bull 48:533–542
Tauxe L, Steindorf JL, Harris A (2006) Depositional remanent magnetization: toward an improved theoretical and experimental foundation. Earth Planet Sci Lett 244:515–529
Turney CSM (1998) Extraction of rhyolitic component of Vedde microtephra from minerogenic lake sediments. J Paleolimnol 19:199–206
Turney CSM, Harkness DD, Lowe JJ (1997) The use of microtephra horizons to correlate Late-glacial lake sediment successions in Scotland. J Quat Sci 12:525–531
Acknowledgments
This project was funded by National Science Foundation grant ARC-0909354 and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration grant NA09OAR4600215. We would like to thank Jon Woodruff, Kinuyo Kanamaru and Lucien von Gunten for their input early on in this study, as well as Alexa Van Eaton and two anonymous reviewers for comments on earlier drafts.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
D’Anjou, R.M., Balascio, N.L. & Bradley, R.S. Locating cryptotephra in lake sediments using fluid imaging technology. J Paleolimnol 52, 257–264 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10933-014-9786-2
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10933-014-9786-2