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Radiometric dating of sediment records in Kuwait’s marine area

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Abstract

Six sediment cores collected from the Northwestern Arabian/Persian Gulf have been radiometrically dated by 210Pb. Three cores were collected from stations within the Kuwait Bay, and three others were collected from stations outside the bay. Two models have been used for 210Pb dating of sediment cores, i.e. Constant Flux: Constant Sedimentation (CF:CS) Model and the Constant Rate of Supply (CRS) Model. The average rates were found to vary significantly between 0.16 and 1.00 cm y−1 for stations outside and within the bay respectively. The variability of the sedimentation rate was essentially physiographic characteristics and variable hydrodynamic condition. In this study, 137Cs fallout radiotracer was also used to construct a realistic chronology. It was observed that the 137Cs in the entire vertical profile has been continuously contributed by fluvial and atmospheric deposition.

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Acknowledgments

The authors wish to thank the Kuwait Foundation for the Advancements of Sciences (KFAS) for their financial support. The authors also wish to express their gratitude to Dr. Naji M. Al-Mutairi, Director General for his support. The authors deeply thank Anfal Ismaeel for her contribution in sample preparation and measurements. Special thanks go to Dr. M. Quine, the senior researcher at KISR for his valuable comments and discussion.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Energy and Building Research Center, Kuwait Institute for Scientific Research, P. O. Box 24885, Safat, Kuwait City, 13109, Kuwait

    A. Aba

  2. Environment and Life Science Center, Kuwait Institute for Scientific Research, P. O. Box 24885, Safat, Kuwait City, 13109, Kuwait

    S. Uddin, M. Bahbahani & A. Al-Ghadban

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  1. A. Aba
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  2. S. Uddin
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  3. M. Bahbahani
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  4. A. Al-Ghadban
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Correspondence to A. Aba.

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Aba, A., Uddin, S., Bahbahani, M. et al. Radiometric dating of sediment records in Kuwait’s marine area. J Radioanal Nucl Chem 301, 247–255 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10967-014-3140-z

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10967-014-3140-z

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