<sup>137</sup>Cs Sediment Profiles as a Tracer of Marine Sedimentation Processes in a Semi-Enclosed Bay Affected by Anthropogenic Releases—Example of Kaštela Bay (Adriatic Sea, Croatia)
2022
Ivanka Lovrenčić Mikelić | Neven Cukrov | Višnja Oreščanin | Krunoslav Škaro | Delko Barišić
Kaštela Bay was taken as a model to study sedimentation processes using the vertical sediment profiles of <sup>137</sup>Cs massic activities. The aim was to distinguish the sedimentation conditions in different parts of the Bay and to partly determine the pathways of terrigenous input into the Bay. The purpose was to demonstrate that <sup>137</sup>Cs profiles are applicable in differentiating sedimentation processes. It was found that mostly continuous, undisturbed sedimentation takes place in the central and south parts of the Bay; the sedimentation conditions in the west part of the Bay are more complicated. The west part is characterised by the extremely slow sedimentation of the coarse-grained sediment or even by erosion and selective resuspension of the fine-grained particles followed by resedimentation in other parts of the Bay. It was also observed that the upper 10 cm of the sediment is the most exposed to homogenisation. The strong influence of the Jadro River and anthropogenic activities in the east part of the Bay are reflected in the higher <sup>137</sup>Cs activities, strong sediment mixing, and increased sediment input. This study shows that the <sup>137</sup>Cs profiles can provide comprehensive insights for the whole study region when a sophisticated sampling layout is deployed. The results of the study are applicable to other aquatic environments with comparable processes and sedimentary environments.
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