Distribution of biologic, anthropogenic, and volcanic constituents as a proxy for sediment transport in the San Francisco Bay Coastal System

Marine Geology
By: , and 
Edited by: Patrick L. BarnardBruce E. Jaffe, and David H. Schoellhamer

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Abstract

Although conventional sediment parameters (mean grain size, sorting, and skewness) and provenance have typically been used to infer sediment transport pathways, most freshwater, brackish, and marine environments are also characterized by abundant sediment constituents of biological, and possibly anthropogenic and volcanic, origin that can provide additional insight into local sedimentary processes. The biota will be spatially distributed according to its response to environmental parameters such as water temperature, salinity, dissolved oxygen, organic carbon content, grain size, and intensity of currents and tidal flow, whereas the presence of anthropogenic and volcanic constituents will reflect proximity to source areas and whether they are fluvially- or aerially-transported. Because each of these constituents have a unique environmental signature, they are a more precise proxy for that source area than the conventional sedimentary process indicators. This San Francisco Bay Coastal System study demonstrates that by applying a multi-proxy approach, the primary sites of sediment transport can be identified. Many of these sites are far from where the constituents originated, showing that sediment transport is widespread in the region. Although not often used, identifying and interpreting the distribution of naturally-occurring and allochthonous biologic, anthropogenic, and volcanic sediment constituents is a powerful tool to aid in the investigation of sediment transport pathways in other coastal systems.

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Publication type Article
Publication Subtype Journal Article
Title Distribution of biologic, anthropogenic, and volcanic constituents as a proxy for sediment transport in the San Francisco Bay Coastal System
Series title Marine Geology
DOI 10.1016/j.margeo.2013.05.006
Volume 345
Year Published 2013
Language English
Publisher Elsevier
Publisher location Amsterdam
Contributing office(s) Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center, San Francisco Bay-Delta
Description 30 p.
First page 113
Last page 142
Country United States
State California
Other Geospatial San Francisco Bay coastal system
Online Only (Y/N) N
Additional Online Files (Y/N) N
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