Modern salt-marsh and tidal-flat foraminifera from Sitkinak and Simeonof Islands, southwestern Alaska
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Abstract
We describe the modern distribution of salt-marsh and tidal-flat foraminifera from Sitkinak Island (Trinity Islands) and Simeonof Island (Shumagin Islands), Alaska, to begin development of a dataset for later use in reconstructing relative sea-level changes caused by great earthquakes along the Alaska-Aleutian subduction zone. Dead foraminifera were enumerated from a total of 58 surface-sediment samples collected along three intertidal transects around a coastal lagoon on Sitkinak Island and two intertidal transects on Simeonof Island. Two distinctive assemblages of salt-marsh foraminifera were recognized on Sitkinak Island. Miliammina fusca dominated low-marsh settings and Balticammina pseudomacrescens dominated the high marsh. These two species make up >98% of individuals. On Simeonof Island, 93% of individuals in high-marsh settings above mean high water were B. pseudomacrescens. The tidal flat on Simeonof Island was dominated by Cibicides lobatulus (60% of individuals), but the lower limit of this species is subtidal and was not sampled. These results indicate that uplift or subsidence caused by repeated earthquakes along the Alaska-Aleutian subduction zone could be reconstructed in coastal sediments using alternating assemblages of near monospecific B. pseudomacrescens and low-marsh or tidal-flat foraminifera.
Study Area
| Publication type | Article |
|---|---|
| Publication Subtype | Journal Article |
| Title | Modern salt-marsh and tidal-flat foraminifera from Sitkinak and Simeonof Islands, southwestern Alaska |
| Series title | Journal of Foraminiferal Research |
| DOI | 10.2113/gsjfr.43.1.88 |
| Volume | 43 |
| Issue | 1 |
| Year Published | 2013 |
| Language | English |
| Publisher | Cushman Foundation for Foraminiferal Research |
| Contributing office(s) | Alaska Science Center Geology Minerals, Geologic Hazards Science Center |
| Description | 11 p. |
| First page | 88 |
| Last page | 98 |
| Country | United States |
| State | Alaska |
| Other Geospatial | Simeonof Island, Sitkinak Island |
| Additional Online Files (Y/N) | N |
| Google Analytic Metrics | Metrics page |