IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/spr/nathaz/v63y2012i1p85-100.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Homotrema rubrum (Lamarck) taphonomy as an overwash indicator in Marine Ponds on Anegada, British Virgin Islands

Author

Listed:
  • Jessica Pilarczyk
  • Eduard Reinhardt

Abstract

Marine hypersaline ponds on Anegada, British Virgin Islands contain stratigraphic evidence (Shell and Sand Sheet) of a A.D. 1650–1800 overwash event that could have formed through a hurricane or tsunami. Candidates for the deposit include far-field (e.g. 1755 Lisbon tsunami) and local Puerto Rico Trench events (e.g. 1690), but hurricanes cannot be ignored. The goal of this study is to provide additional information to assess the origin of the deposit by examining the taphonomic characters of Homotrema rubrum, a common encrusting foraminifer in Caribbean reef settings. Surface samples (n = 12) from major sub-environments (reef-flat, beach, storm wrack, and dune) and pond sections (n = 6; 20–80 cm thick) are analyzed for their Homotrema concentration (specimens/cm 3 ) and taphonomic character. Particle-size analysis was conducted on the same sections and samples. Highly Preserved (red colored, angular, intact chambers) Homotrema dominate the beach, storm wrack, and reef-flat deposits relative to the dune sand, but the beach and storm wrack contain the largest specimens. The Shell and Sand Sheet in the pond has Highly Preserved and abundant Homotrema (specimens/cm 3 ) versus other sedimentary units in the ponds (e.g. Mud Cap and Shelly Mud). Its taphonomic character is most similar (test size and condition) to the storm wrack deposit on the beach indicating an outside provenance for the sand. Concentration of Homotrema in the Shell and Sand Sheet declined southward indicating a northerly reef-flat provenance for the overwash, although it does not preclude a southern inundation as well. It is unclear whether Homotrema individuals originated from the reef itself or were eroded from older beach ridge deposits during the overwash event. Conclusions from Homotrema taphonomic analysis were limited by the lack of comparative data from known hurricane and tsunami deposits in other Caribbean regions. Copyright Springer Science+Business Media B.V. 2012

Suggested Citation

  • Jessica Pilarczyk & Eduard Reinhardt, 2012. "Homotrema rubrum (Lamarck) taphonomy as an overwash indicator in Marine Ponds on Anegada, British Virgin Islands," Natural Hazards: Journal of the International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards, Springer;International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards, vol. 63(1), pages 85-100, August.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:nathaz:v:63:y:2012:i:1:p:85-100
    DOI: 10.1007/s11069-010-9706-3
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://hdl.handle.net/10.1007/s11069-010-9706-3
    Download Restriction: Access to full text is restricted to subscribers.
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1007/s11069-010-9706-3?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:spr:nathaz:v:63:y:2012:i:1:p:85-100. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    We have no bibliographic references for this item. You can help adding them by using this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Sonal Shukla or Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.springer.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.