Pw. French et al., 210-LEAD DATING OF A MODERN PERIOD SALT-MARSH DEPOSIT FROM THE SEVERNESTUARY (SOUTHWEST BRITAIN), AND ITS IMPLICATIONS, Marine geology, 118(3-4), 1994, pp. 327-334
The Pb-210 dating of a saltmarsh section from the mid-Severn Estuary h
as facilitated the construction of a chronology based on the temporal
variation of commonly occurring pollutants, namely particulate coal du
st, copper, lead and zinc. The chronology identifies three significant
datum levels at 1958 +/- 4 years, 1950 +/- 4 years and 1933 +/- 7 yea
rs, based on the temporal trends of pollutants within the sediment seq
uence. Based on the Pb-210 dates of the deposits at these levels, aver
aged vertical saltmarsh accretion rates for the studied section can be
shown to be between 0.35 and 0.40 cm yr-1. It is therefore concluded
that the marsh area studied is accreting vertically at a rate comparab
le to local sea-level rise.