Stratigraphy and palynology of the mangrove swamps of Bombay

Abstract

The mangrove swamps in Bombay and Salsette islands are made up up to 5 m of dark and brown mud filling undulating rocky basins. Pollen analysis has revaled statistical insufficiency of pollen grains, the identification of which permits us to infer broadly an increase of Rhizophorae (Bruguiera and Ceriops) in the top samples; Avicennia was poorly present and there are indications of the presence of the other important mangrove genera among which pollen grains of Sonneratia acida outnumber those of others. The sediments have been found to abound in microplankton and microforms, and the latter have indeed escaped the destructive effects of the acetolysis method. The lack of organic matter and poverty of pollen have not permitted the building up of radiocarbon dated pollen stratigraphy for these mangrove swamps. The possibilities for the prevalence of relatively moister climate in the past have been discussed.

Long-term retrospection on mangrove development using sediment cores and pollen analysis: A review

“…Pollen and spore results are expressed in percentages, or absolute concentration data. In some sediments, results show that the pollen concentration is too low for reliable analysis, for example, the lagoon sediments in Ellison (1989) and mangrove cores of Vishnu-Mittre and Guzder, 1973).…”

Palynological investigation of the Arabian sea: Pollen/spores from the recent sediments of the continental shelf off Bombay, India

“…Since then significant contri butions to the marine palynology have been made by various workers (Koreneva, 1957(Koreneva, , 1964a(Koreneva, , b, 1966(Koreneva, , 1968(Koreneva, , 1971(Koreneva, , 1980MulleJ, 1959;Ingram et al, 1969;Rossignol, 1961;Livingstone, 1964;Panov et al, 1964;Cross & Shaefer, 218 1955; Stanley, 1965Stanley, , 1966aStanley, , b, c, d, 1967Stanley, , 1969Groot, 1966;Groot & Groot, 1966;Cross et al, 1966;Traverse & Ginsburg, 1966;Horowitz, 1966;Boulouard & Delange, 1966;Zagwijn & Veenstra, 1966;Aoutin, 1967;Assemien, 1969;Davey, 1971;Florer, 1973;Heusser & Florer, 1973;Heusser & Balsam, 1977;Maljasowa, 1980;Vronsky, 1980 etc.). In India, palynological studies of the mangrove sediments have been carried out by Das, 1961;Mukherjee, 1969Mukherjee, , 1972Vishnu-Mittre and Gupta, 1972;Vishnu-Mittre and Guzder, 1975;Blasco and Caratini, 1973;Caratini et al, 1973;Gupta, 1981 and many others. The present contribution on the palynology of the oceanic sediments deals with the study of 22 bottom surface (grab) samples from the continental shelf off Bombay. These samples were collected along the western coast of I...…”