Microfabric analysis of laminated diatom ooze (Holocene) from the eastern Bransfield Strait, Antarctic Peninsula

Abstract

Selected intervals of laminated diatom ooze (Holocene) from the eastern Bransfield Strait, Antarctic Peninsula were analyzed using high-resolution section images of impregnated samples to reveal potential annual-to-seasonal scale signatures of the lamination. The results show a probable seasonality within individual diatom ooze laminae which mainly reflects spring blooms of Chaetoceros followed by summer production of Corethron or Rhizosolenia. Alternating monospecific diatom ooze and terrigenous laminae are suggestive of annual cyclicities, representing alternation of diatom mass flux during the spring or autumn with terrigenous flux during the rest of year.