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Assignment

Laboratory Methods and Techniques in Environmental


Reconstructions
Module Code: ENVS433

Mineral Magnetic Records of Brotherswater


Sediment

Written by:
Name: Amir Mustofa Irawan
Student ID: 201192027

Date Submission: 15th January 2017

Supervisor: Andy Plater


Word Count: 626
Table of Contents
1 Introduction .................................................................................................................................... 1
2 Change in Mineral Content of Brotherswater Lake District .................................................... 1
3 Downcore Variation of Magnetic Grain Size ............................................................................. 2
4 Coarse Sediment Delivery During Storms ................................................................................ 3
5 Bibliography ................................................................................................................................... 4
List of Figures
Figure 1 Xlf and Xarm profiles for Brotherswater sediment ........................................................... 1
Figure 2 Xfd and Xarm profiles for Brotherswater sediment .......................................................... 2
Figure 3 Downcore patterns in XLf, Xfd and Xarm of Brotherswater sediment .......................... 3
1 Introduction
Mineral magnetic measurements from sediment cores are one of the
paleoenvironment techniques for recording sedimentation structure and reveal land
use records from the past. Notably, this method has been used to determine climate
change in relation to the environment (Nolan et al., 1999). Peck et al. (1994)
observed that mineral material and grain size particles of Lake Baikal, Siberias
sediment core could detect an interglacial to glacial shift period. Moreover, magnetic
properties with regard to the environment have been employed to validate the
catchment soil erosion model and vegetation change. This report analysed the
linkages between mineral content, eroded soil and grain size in the upper 1 m of the
Brotherswater Lake district core.

2 Change in Mineral Content of Brotherswater Lake District


In general, high mineral content was indicated by higher magnetic susceptibility
measured at low frequency (Xlf) and in the peak of Xarm (Robinson, 1986).
Furthermore, Xarm also might be utilised to establish mineral magnetic properties,
such as hematite or magnetite behaviour in the sedimentation (Maher, 1986).

Figure 1 Xlf and Xarm profiles for Brotherswater sediment

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Figure 1 exhibits the contribution of susceptibility and magnetic mineral distribution in the
upper 1 m of the Brotherswater core. Higher mineral content is portrayed by higher Xlf and
Xarm values, which have a similar pattern in the range of depth. The core has the highest
value of mineral content both in Xlf and Xarm that reaches a peak at 16.37m depth with a
23.5m (10-8m-3kg-1) and 138.4m (10-8m-3kg-1), respectively, spike. It can be seen that there
was a sharp decrease both from 16.05m to 16.04m depth in mineral content that could have
possibly been influenced by less erosion before 5000 years ago because of a bulk of forest
during that period.

3 Downcore Variation of Magnetic Grain Size


The change of frequency dependent of susceptibility is linked to soil erosion in the
environment and a proportion of grain size of single domain grains (Maher, 1986).
Thus, Xarm also might be used for identifying fine grain material, which is particularly
sensitive to single and small pseudo-single domains (King et al., 1982)

Figure 2 Xfd and Xarm profiles for Brotherswater sediment

A Xfd value above 5% suggests the presence of viscous superparamagnetic,


meaning higher sediment has eroded (Sangode and Mazari, 2007). As Figure 2
depicts, the Xfd graph reaches a peak at greater than 5% at 15.8m, 15.82m, 15.87m,

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16.0m and 16.42m depth, supporting an increase of coarse grain size material based
on soil-derived particles. Greater Xfd values would potentially refer to soil erosion
connected to the big soil (coarse grain) from the higher value of the Xarm pattern at
the same depth. Larger values for Xfd and Xarm that match indicate coarse sediment
size, possibly from either flooding or major storm events.

4 Coarse Sediment Delivery During Storms


In considering downcore patterns with respect to Xlf, Xfd and Xarm, Figure 3 suitably
describes a stronger storm that yields coarse material because of flooding.

Figure 3 Downcore patterns in the XLf, Xfd and Xarm of Brotherswater sediment

Figure 3 presents the scenario of storm events that demonstrate variation in peak
pattern in the upper 1 m of the Brotherswater core. Severe storm events are denoted
with higher Xlf and Xfd values, where there is great supply of mineral matter, thus
there is a lower Xarm value indicative of coarse material from severe flooding. From
the graph patterns, severe storm conditions took place at approximately 15.82m,
15.85m, 16.0m, 16.08m, 16.37m, 16.52m and 16.7m depths. Higher Xfd established
high soil-derived catchment from a different location and increases when on the top
of the soil. Indeed, the peaks imply high magnetic mineral concentrations (Xlf),

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probably signifying soil mineral matter catchment from excess rainfall during storms
event conditions in the past.

5 Bibliography
King, J., Banerjee, S., Marvin, J. and zdemir, . (1982) 'A comparison of different
magnetic methods for determining the relative grain size of magnetite in natural
materials: some results from lake sediments', Earth and Planetary Science Letters,
59(2), pp. 404-419.

Maher, B. (1986) 'Characterisation of soils by mineral magnetic measurements',


Physics of the Earth and Planetary Interiors, 42(1), pp. 76-92.

Nolan, S., Bloemendal, J., Boyle, J., Jones, R., Oldfield, F. and Whitney, M. (1999)
'Mineral magnetic and geochemical records of late Glacial climatic change from two
northwest European carbonate lakes', Journal of Paleolimnology, 22(1), pp. 97-107.

Peck, J., King, J., Colman, S. and Kravchinsky, V. (1994) 'A rock-magnetic record
from Lake Baikal, Siberia: evidence for Late Quaternary climate change', Earth and
Planetary Science Letters, 122(1), pp. 221-238.

Robinson, S. (1986) 'The late Pleistocene palaeoclimatic record of North Atlantic


deep-sea sediments revealed by mineral-magnetic measurements', Physics of the
Earth and Planetary Interiors, 42(1), pp. 22-47.

Sangode, S. and Mazari, R. (2007) 'Mineral magnetic response to climate variability


in the high altitude Kioto palaeolake, Spiti valley, Northwestern Himalaya', Himalayan
Geology, 28, pp. 1-9.

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