Origin of laminated diatom ooze in King George Basin sediments from Bransfield Strait, Antarctica

Abstract

Diatom and porewater data of two (3-m long) piston cores from the King George Basin in Bransfield Strait, Antarctica are used to infer the depositional mechanism of the laminated diatom ooze. The higher content of total organic carbon and sulfide sulfur and their positive relationship in diatom ooze sediments suggest an oxidizing condition during the deposition of diatom ooze. The occurrence of intact diatoms, Chaetoceros resting spore, in the ooze implies that the laminated diatom ooze resulted from a mass sedimentation after diatom blooms near the sea-ice edges during cold period at around 2500 yrs BP.