Magnetic studies of tephra in late Holocene peats and loessic soils from SE Iceland ...

• Main Author: Xia, Dunsheng.
• Format: Thesis
• Language: unknown
• Published: University of Liverpool Repository 2023
• Subjects: Iceland
• Online Access: https://dx.doi.org/10.17638/03176064; https://livrepository.liverpool.ac.uk/id/eprint/3176064

Magnetic and geochemical properties of five late Holocene peat and loessial soil sections in SE Iceland have been studied. The aims were (i ) to establish a reliable tephrochronology for the sections, using geochemical analysis of tephra shards; (ii) to establish high resolution bulk sample records of mineral magnetic and geochemical properties; (iii) to test the ability of magnetic properties to correlate distal tephra layers; (iv) to assess the possible environmental significance of mineral magnetic time series and (v) to use records of loessial accumulation rates to assess human impact on the environment in SE Iceland. The work has been successful in establishing a reliable tephrostratigraphy for the studied sections. This was achieved using electron microprobe analyses (EMPA) of the geochemistry of tephra shards concentrated using a density separation technique. The results of detailed mineral magnetic measurements suggest that the main magnetic minerals in the tephras are probably ferrimagnetic minerals ...