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210Pb dating of recent sediments from the continental shelf of western India: factors influencing sedimentation rates

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Abstract

Several cores from the continental shelf of the Arabian Sea along the Indian Coast were investigated for change in sedimentation rates duly constrained for chronology based on 210Pb and 137Cs dating techniques. The emphasis was to look for spatial and temporal variation in the sedimentation rate along the continental shelf of eastern Arabian Sea between Goa to Kochi for water depth ≤ 150 m. This study showed varying sedimentation rates in coastal and distant sediment cores. Both 210Pb and 137Cs dating techniques showed comparable sedimentation rate in most sediment cores. The sedimentation in the continental shelf region of the coastal Arabian Sea is primarily controlled by discharge of sediments from rivers during Indian summer monsoon. Increased sedimentation rate from the north (off Goa) to the south (off Kochi) was triggered by high riverine flux and longshore sediment transport.

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Acknowledgements

We are thankful for the support of the Ministry of Earth Sciences, Govt. of India, under the GEOTRACES Project. We thank cruise participants, Sneha, Shubhananad, K.D. Damodarao, for their help and support during sediment core collection. We also thank Captain and Crew members of Sagar Manjusha and NIOT for providing logistic support during the cruise. We thank Director, PRL, for the support and encouragement. Authors thank anonymous reviewers and editor for their constructive comments which improved the manuscript significantly.

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  1. Geosciences Division, Physical Research Laboratory, Navrangpura, Ahmedabad, Gujarat, 380 009, India

    Chinmay Shah, Upasana S. Banerji, K. R. Chandana & Ravi Bhushan

  2. Hydrological Processes Group, National Centre for Earth Science Studies, Akkulam, Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, 695 011, India

    Upasana S. Banerji

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Shah, C., Banerji, U.S., Chandana, K.R. et al. 210Pb dating of recent sediments from the continental shelf of western India: factors influencing sedimentation rates. Environ Monit Assess 192, 468 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10661-020-08415-x

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