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Source, Processes, and Depositional Environments of Estuarine Mudflat Core Sediments, Central Western Coast of India

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Geochemical Treasures and Petrogenetic Processes

Abstract

Sediment components, major and trace elements, and radionuclide (210Pb) of estuarine mudflat sediment cores collected from the Mandovi, Kalinadi, and Aghanashini estuaries, along the central western coast of India, were investigated to understand the source, processes, and depositional environments. The distribution and abundance of parameters studied reveal that they were controlled largely by the catchment area geology, geomorphology, and estuarine processes together with a contribution from anthropogenic activities. The variations in sediment proxies of mudflat cores reveal changing environmental conditions with time. The sedimentation rate in the study area varied in two phases, the relatively low rate in the lower part and the high rate in the upper part of the cores in Mandovi and Aghanashini estuaries. The increased deposition of finer sediments and metals in the recent past regulated by natural and enhanced anthropogenic input was responsible for higher sedimentation rates. In the Kalinadi estuary, however, sedimentation was uniform with a single phase.

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Acknowledgements

One of the authors (GNN) thanks CSIR New Delhi for awarding the CSIR Emeritus Scientist position.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Marine Science, School of Earth, Ocean and Atmospheric Sciences, Goa University, Taleigão Plateau, Goa, 403 206, India

    G. N. Nayak

  2. Atomic Minerals Directorate, Government of India, Hyderabad, India

    K. T. Singh

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Correspondence to G. N. Nayak .

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  1. Instituto de Ciencias del Mar y Limnología, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Ciudad Universitaria, Ciudad de México, Estado de México, Mexico

    John S. Armstrong-Altrin

  2. Instituto de Energías Renovables, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Temixco, Mexico

    Kailasa Pandarinath

  3. División de Geociencias Aplicadas, Instituto Potosino de Investigación Científica y Tecnológica (IPICYT), San Luis Potosí, Mexico

    Sanjeet Kumar Verma

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Nayak, G.N., Singh, K.T. (2022). Source, Processes, and Depositional Environments of Estuarine Mudflat Core Sediments, Central Western Coast of India. In: Armstrong-Altrin, J.S., Pandarinath, K., Verma, S.K. (eds) Geochemical Treasures and Petrogenetic Processes. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-19-4782-7_6

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