40 Paleoclimatology/Paleoceanography (Posters)

Sunday, 1 November 2015
9:00 AM - 5:30 PM
Exhibit Hall

HOLOCENE SEDIMENTARY RECORD FROM THE NORTHEASTERN MALACCA STRAIT: INSIGHTS FROM BULK SEDIMENT MAGNETIC SUSCEPTIBILTY ANALYSIS

Paper number: 40-27
Program: Technical Sessions
Time: 9:00 AM – 5:30 PM

Authors

Abstract

The Strait of Malacca, a narrow passage of water between Sumatra and peninsular Malaysia, contains relatively thick (several m), fine grained sediment immediately off the west coast of Kedah, Malaysia that might contain a record of Holocene paleoclimate. To investigate this possibility, we sampled a core taken from 12.6 m water depth between Langkawi Island and the Malaysian mainland. The core, comprised of grey mud with bivalve shell fragments scattered throughout, was sampled in contiguous 2-4 cm intervals and was analyzed for bulk sediment magnetic susceptibility (BMS) on a Kappabridge MFK1-A.

The BMS data can be divided into two intervals: from 293 to 36 cm an interval of high BMS values containing three peaks, and from 36 to 0 cm an interval of lower BMS values. Variations in BMS values can be attributed to variations in sediment input from rivers on the Malaysian mainland including the Kedah and Perlis rivers. Higher values of the lower interval can be explained by greater suspended sediment load from rivers during intervals of increased intensity monsoons (more rainfall). Conversely, lower values of the upper interval reflect decreased monsoonal intensity, less rainfall and decreased sediment load.