Using pollen in turbidites for vegetation reconstructions

McDonald, Laura S.; Strachan, Lorna J.; Holt, Katherine; McArthur, Adam D.; Barnes, Philip M.; Maier, Katherine L.; Orpin, Alan R.; Horrocks, Mark; Ganguly, Aratrika; Hopkins, Jenni L.; Bostock, Helen C.

doi:10.1002/jqs.3653

Title: Using pollen in turbidites for vegetation reconstructions

Journal Article · 19 September 2024 · Journal of Quaternary Science

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/jqs.3653 · OSTI ID:2472801

^[1]; Strachan, Lorna J. ^[1]; Holt, Katherine ^[2]; McArthur, Adam D. ^[3]; Barnes, Philip M. ^[4]; Maier, Katherine L. ^[4]; Orpin, Alan R. ^[4]; Horrocks, Mark ^[5]; Ganguly, Aratrika ^[1]; Hopkins, Jenni L. ^[6]; Bostock, Helen C. ^[7]

Univ. of Auckland (New Zealand)
Massey University (New Zealand)
University of Leeds (United Kingdom)
National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research (New Zealand)
Univ. of Auckland (New Zealand); Microfossil Research Ltd. (New Zealand)
Victoria Univ. of Wellington (New Zealand)
Univ. of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD (Australia)

Turbidites, deposited by sub-aqueous gravity flows, are common in sedimentary archives worldwide and present a unique challenge and opportunity when reconstructing past vegetation through pollen analysis. When sampling pollen from a sediment core for palaeovegetation records, it is common practice to target background sediments (i.e. pelagic sediment) and avoid sampling turbidites, as they are presumed to portray a misleading picture of past vegetation. This assumption stems from our limited understanding of pollen abundance and distribution through turbidites, meaning that palynologists overlook deposits that could potentially be used to reconstruct past vegetation and climate. We present pollen assemblage and sedimentological data from four recent (<150 years) deep marine turbidite deposits from the Hikurangi Subduction Margin, Aotearoa-New Zealand, with the aim of understanding the abundance and distribution of pollen in fine-grained turbidites. We find that pollen is diluted in the bases of turbidites, but despite this dilution, the proportions of different pollen taxa remain consistent through each turbidite. These results confirm that pollen can be sampled from turbidites for palaeovegetation reconstructions and that sampling the fine-grained upper parts of turbidites will provide the best pollen recovery.

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Research Organization:: Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States)

Sponsoring Organization:: USDOE

Grant/Contract Number:: AC05-76RL01830

OSTI ID:: 2472801

Report Number(s):: PNNL-SA--197804

Journal Information:: Journal of Quaternary Science, Journal Name: Journal of Quaternary Science Journal Issue: 7 Vol. 39; ISSN 0267-8179

Publisher:: WileyCopyright Statement

Country of Publication:: United States

Language:: English

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59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES
Hikurangi Subduction Margin
pollen analysis
pollen sampling
sediment sorting
turbidites
vegetation reconstruction

Title: Using pollen in turbidites for vegetation reconstructions

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