The magnetic properties of the recent sediments of Brothers Water, N W England

The magnetic properties of recent sediments from five short cores from Brothers Water in the English Lake District are compared with those from a set of catchment soil samples. From the comparison, it is concluded that bacterial magnetosomes have made a significant contribution to the magnetic properties of the sediments of the last five decades. This contribution is superimposed on a continuing erosive input of haematite-rich sediment from the parent materials of the catchment and may obscure any possible increase in surface soil input during recent times. The results highlight the difficulty of making sediment-source linkages where biogenic contributions to the magnetic properties of the sediment are important relative to the input of magnetic minerals from catchment erosion.