62
The samples sat in my lab for weeks. I was distracted by administrative tasks
and, I must admit, was somewhat intimidated by the thought of processing and analyzing 400 samples! But then, a stroke of luck. A student came to me wishing to
change her Master’s thesis project. I explained what I had in mind for core PS03 and
she committed to the project. And she did an excellent job that resulted in the award
of a Master’s degree a year or so later. In addition, Dr. Kathleen Farrell at the NC
Geological Survey relogged the core in great detail. But what did these data mean?
One core can tell a story, but it is much better to have several. We had more than that
in the work of several additional students who cored the sediments of Pamlico
Sound. Another three students documented the distribution of modern foraminifera
in the coastal waters of North Carolina (Albemarle, Pamlico and Core sounds) and
their data served as the model by which the down-core foraminiferal assemblages
could be interpreted. So, we had a huge database and it was my job as the organizer
Fig. 4.8 A graphic log by
K.M. Farrell, of Pamlico
Sound core PS03,
paleoenvironmental
interpretations, and a
visual representation of
changing foraminiferal
species (biofacies) and,
hence, environments in the
core. Blue indicates the
presence of open marine
foraminifera, green
indicates high salinity
estuary foraminifera and
yellow indicates low
salinity estuary
foraminifera. Rapidly
(based on the radiocarbon
age estimates) alternating
colors show that
boundaries between these
three biofacies are not
sharp because the
sediments have been
disturbed by burrowing
organisms and/or currents
which transport some of
the tiny foraminiferal
shells up and down the
core. (Figure by
D.J. Mallinson)
S. J. Culver
The samples sat in my lab for weeks. I was distracted by administrative tasks
and, I must admit, was somewhat intimidated by the thought of processing and analyzing 400 samples! But then, a stroke of luck. A student came to me wishing to
change her Master’s thesis project. I explained what I had in mind for core PS03 and
she committed to the project. And she did an excellent job that resulted in the award
of a Master’s degree a year or so later. In addition, Dr. Kathleen Farrell at the NC
Geological Survey relogged the core in great detail. But what did these data mean?
One core can tell a story, but it is much better to have several. We had more than that
in the work of several additional students who cored the sediments of Pamlico
Sound. Another three students documented the distribution of modern foraminifera
in the coastal waters of North Carolina (Albemarle, Pamlico and Core sounds) and
their data served as the model by which the down-core foraminiferal assemblages
could be interpreted. So, we had a huge database and it was my job as the organizer
Fig. 4.8 A graphic log by
K.M. Farrell, of Pamlico
Sound core PS03,
paleoenvironmental
interpretations, and a
visual representation of
changing foraminiferal
species (biofacies) and,
hence, environments in the
core. Blue indicates the
presence of open marine
foraminifera, green
indicates high salinity
estuary foraminifera and
yellow indicates low
salinity estuary
foraminifera. Rapidly
(based on the radiocarbon
age estimates) alternating
colors show that
boundaries between these
three biofacies are not
sharp because the
sediments have been
disturbed by burrowing
organisms and/or currents
which transport some of
the tiny foraminiferal
shells up and down the
core. (Figure by
D.J. Mallinson)
S. J. Culver