Diatoms as indicators of sedimentary processes in Burrinjuck reservoir New South Wales Australia

Abstract

A combination of high and low resolution diatom analysis conducted on a transect of five sediment cores from the downstream section of Burrinjuck Reservoir, southern New South Wales, Australia, has revealed that, despite complex sedimentation patterns, there are precise correlations between diatom stratigraphies. Spatially dependent variation in diatom sedimentation exists, particularly that resulting from density current deposition. However, sediments deposited in this manner are readily identified from the diatom records. The nature of diatom species assemblages and their variability aid in the identification of sediment provenance and the temporal resolution of individual samples respectively. The results of this study, which provide a complement to other research on the reservoir, should in particular allow for more accurate reconstructions of the history of nutrient concentrations in, and sediment yield to, the reservoir.