Abstract
The plot of210Pb activity against depth in carbonate sands on the Virgin Island Bank is a negative asymmetric hyperbolic curve. As depth increases, an initial rapid decrease in210Pb activity caused by the decay of unsupported210Pb and226Ra is followed by increasing activity as a result of210Pb achieving equilibrium with ingrowing230Th. As this curve is time dependent, an estimate of the relative ages in carbonate sequences and the rates of net carbonate accumulation can be made. The ease of210Pb activity determinations makes this procedure an attractive method in obtaining carbonate sand accumulation rates.
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Holmes, C.W. 210Pb method for estimating the rate of carbonate sand sedimentation. Geo-Marine Letters 1, 237–241 (1981). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02462440
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02462440