Sediment Accumulation

We use radioactive isotopes (Pb-210, Cs-137) as tools to determine rates of sedimentation in coastal environments. We are developing a technique to rapidly measure Th-228 to determine rates of accumulation over decadal timescales. This will be used to improve spatial coverage in mapping accretion rates in coastal wetlands and ultimately their response to sea level rise.

WHOI summer student fellow William Nguyen (now a PhD student at Texas A&M) sectioning a sediment core for Th-228 analysis.