Pollen, Pb-210, and opaque spherules: an integrated approach to dating and sedimentation in the intertidal environment ( Long Island).
A combination of techniques was applied to the problem of dating recent intertidal deposits from eastern Long Island. Comparison of pollen profiles and historic documents supplied three dated horizons: 1) a 1640-1680 rise in agricultural indicator at the time of settlement, 2) an 1800 decline in oak pollen with the initiation of the cordwood industry, and 3) a 1920 decline in chestnut pollen following the chestnut blight. Pb-210 provided chronologies for the last 100-150 yr sections of cores. Chronologies from each were compared and used to date a 1900 rise in industrially derived opaque spherules independently. Results showed that a combination of techniques could be used to obtain detailed chronologies from intertidal sediments deposited within the last 300-350 yr and to interpret salt marsh and barrier island dynamics.-from Authors
