Sedimentation rates lead-210 dating

Much of the work to date in estuaries and adjacent marsh/shelf environments using 210Pb has been to determine sediment accumulation and accretion rates (Armentano and Woodwell, 1975 Krishnaswami et al., 1980 Church et al., 1981 Kuehl et al., 1982 Olsen et al., 1985 Paez-Osuna and Mandelli, 1985 McKee et al., 1986 Lynch et al., 1989 Bricker-Urso, 1989 Moore, 1992 Smoak et al., 1996 Dellapenna et al., 1998, 2001 Benoit, 2001 Corbett et al., 2003). Lead-210 is considered to be a reliable method for dating sediments deposited over the last 100 to 110 y (Krishnaswami et al., 1971). In the absence of bioturbation/mixing the activity gradient of excess 210Pb in sediments, which is the net result of accumulation and radioactive decay, can provide information on the sedimentation rate of recent sediments. Unfortunately, in many... 

Dating and Sediment Accumulation. Stratigraphic Patterns Lead-210 profiles from profundal cores from each study lake show conformable declines in unsupported activity to an asymptote of supported 210Pb typically below 40-60 cm deep (Figure 3). Supported activity, attained at shallower depths in Thrush (28 cm) and Kjostad (36 cm), indicates slower linear rates of sedimentation at these sites. The activity profiles for several lakes, most notably Thrush and Kjostad, are almost perfectly exponential and thus indicate nearly constant sediment accumulation rates. Others, such as Cedar and Mountain, show flat spots and kinks that probably represent shifts in sediment flux. 

Lead-210 is produced by radioactive decay of 222Rn and can enter estuaries as a dissolved/complexed ion or in association with particles from the ocean, river, and atmosphere. Much of the work to date in estuaries and adjacent marsh/shelf environments using 210Pb has been to determine sediment accumulation and accretion rates. 

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