Intertidal foraminifera in the macro-tidal estuaries of the Gulf of Cambay: Implications for interpreting sea-level change in palaeo-estuaries |
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Authors: | Anupam Ghosh Sourav Saha Pratul Kumar Saraswati Santanu Banerjee Stuart Burley |
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Institution: | aDepartment of Earth Sciences, Indian Institute of Technology Bombay, Powai, Mumbai 400076, India;bBasin Dynamics Research Group, School of Earth Sciences, University of Keele, Staffordshire, UK;cBG Trinidad and Tobago, BG House, 5 St. Clair Avenue, Port of Spain, Trinidad |
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Abstract: | The Gulf of Cambay is a macro-tidal estuarine embayment lying in an active monsoon zone characterized by a high annual sediment load. The present study examines the distribution of foraminifera in the Narmada and Tapti estuaries of the Gulf in order to use these as analogues for the study of palaeo-macro-tidal estuarine environments and as a means of recording the extent of sea-level change in estuarine settings. Foraminifera are widely distributed in sand flats, mud flats and marshes at the mouths of the estuaries. The overall foraminiferal assemblage is low diversity, comprising epifaunal and infaunal taxa dominated by Ammonia, Murrayinella, Haynesina, Quinqueloculina, Nonion, Cibicides, Cibicidoides, Elphidium, Trochammina and Miliammina. The triserial planktonic foraminifer Gallitellia vivans, an indicator of stressed and up-welling areas, is also recorded in the intertidal sediments of the estuaries. These foraminifera are carried into estuaries up to 50 km up the river mouths by the strong tidal currents in the bay. Three biofacies are recognized: Trochammina–Miliammina biofacies (high marsh); Murrayinella-Haynesina biofacies (low marsh and mud flats) and Ammonia-Elphidium-Quinqueloculina biofacies (shallow marine). |
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Keywords: | Foraminifera Marshes Intertidal environment Estuaries Gulf of Cambay India |
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