| Summary: | Coastal systems in semi-arid areas are characterised by complex physico-chemical processes involving mixing of marine and continental water sources as well as precipitation of evaporitic and carbonate minerals. The latter processes involving carbonate cycling also represent an important but currently poorly constrained component of the coastal carbon budget. This thesis fills important knowledge gaps in our understanding of water source mixing and local carbonate cycling in a semi-arid coastal system in South Australia – the Coorong, Lower Lakes and Murray Mouth (CLLMM) estuary, using selected alkaline earth metals (Ca and Sr) and their isotopes with the following research components: 1. Application of radiogenic Sr isotopes ((87)Sr/(86)Sr), stable Ca isotopes (δ(44/40)Ca) and elemental ratios, complemented by mineralogical analysis of top-sediment samples and geochemical (PHREEQC) modelling of carbonate saturations in the CLLMM waters to constrain the water source apportionment and local carbonate output in the Coorong lagoon. 2. Development and validation of high-precision stable Sr isotope analysis (δ(88/86)Sr) using thermal ionisation mass spectrometry (TIMS) and follow up calibration of δ(88/86)Sr in the CLLMM waters with respect to changing salinity and carbonate saturation states. 3. Application of (87)Sr/(86)Sr and δ(88/86)Sr tracers, along with elemental concentration data, to monitor seasonal variations (i.e., every 3 months) in water source mixing and carbonate dynamics (i.e., dissolution vs precipitation) in the CLLMM. 4. Reconstruction of palaeo-hydrology and salinity in the Coorong South Lagoon throughout the past ~2400 years, based on (87)Sr/(86)Sr, δ(88/86)Sr and Mg/Sr analysed in fossil bivalve shell species (Arthritica helmsi) collected from sediment cores. The above data were complemented by radiocarbon (14C) and pollen-based geochronological models. Overall, the results from the thesis showed that the modern North Lagoon waters are mainly sourced from the Southern Ocean, with transient ...
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