Occurrence of pteropods in a deep eastern Arabian Sea core: Neotectonic implications

This paper reports pteropod shells (aragonitic) at 100, 200, 270–277 and 470 cm sediment depths in a core (EAST) recovered from 3820 m deep water from the eastern Arabian Sea. Ages of the four stratigraphic levels showing pteropod presence are estimated as 29, 52, 70–72 and 127 kyr. In normal circum...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Current science (Bangalore) 2000-05, Vol.78 (9), p.1142-1144
Main Authors: Singh, A. D., Schiebel, R., Nisha, N. R.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Aragonite
Continental shelves
Geology
Marine
Meteors
Neotectonics
Ocean currents
Oceans
Oxygen isotopes
RESEARCH COMMUNICATIONS
Seas
Sediments
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Summary:This paper reports pteropod shells (aragonitic) at 100, 200, 270–277 and 470 cm sediment depths in a core (EAST) recovered from 3820 m deep water from the eastern Arabian Sea. Ages of the four stratigraphic levels showing pteropod presence are estimated as 29, 52, 70–72 and 127 kyr. In normal circumstances microfaunal assemblages of this core are expected to be devoid of pteropod shells because the site is situated far below (~ 3.5 km) the Aragonite Compensation Depth. Therefore, the recorded pteropod shells are exotic to the location and may have been transported from the shallower depths by the turbidity currents. The plausible reason for the preservation of aragonitic shells at such greater depth appears to be quick burial of pteropods resulting from large-scale vigorous slumping triggered by neotectonic activity.
ISSN:0011-3891