Influence of the prevailing current regime on sedimentation in the

• Main Author: Alboran Sea
• Other Authors: The Pennsylvania State University CiteSeerX Archives
• Format: Text
• Language: English
• Subjects: Charcot; Planktonic foraminifera
• Online Access: http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/summary?doi=10.1.1.579.4256; http://archimer.ifremer.fr/doc/1974/publication-5158.pdf

h e extent to which the prevailing current regime controls the nature of surface sediments in the Alboran Sea is suggested. Hydrographic data and surface sediments collected during the Poly-mède II cruise of the R.V. Jean Charcot in 1972 strongly suggest that the sediment distribution is controlled by the current system resulting from the difference in density between the Intermediate and Deep Mediterranean Water and Atlantic Surface Water. Clay, mainly montmorillonite, and planktonic Foraminifera are carried into the Mediterranean by east-flowing Atlantic Surface Water. As the suspended particles settle through the water colurnn, they are redistributed by the westward-flowing deep currents and accumulate on the floor of the sea, where they constitute a clearly recognizable fraction of the surface sedimentS.-