Suspended load transport of foraminiferal tests in a tide- and wave-swept sea

Publisher Website
Google Scholar
Abstract
The Western Approaches and Western English Channel are shelf seas strongly influenced by tidal currents and, especially during the winter months, by storms and waves. Surface plankton tows, suspended sediment samples from 40 m below the surface and 5 m above the bottom, and bottom sediment samples were examined for living and dead foraminifera. Living planktic foraminifera are present in small numbers but the water column is commonly rich in the dead foraminifera tests of planktic and benthic species. These are well size-sorted and were used to map the movement of water currents, the break-down of the thermocline, and to determine residual transport directions. The pattern is complex, with landward movement in mid-water column of planktic and outer shelf benthic tests, and a near bottom residual flow of benthic tests towards, and possibly over, the shelf edge. Transport in suspension is more widespread than is generally recognized and the process is of geological importance.

This publication has 4 references indexed in Scilit: