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Geochemical characterization of tephra deposits at archaeological and palaeoenvironmental sites across south-central Alberta and southwest Saskatchewan

Description

The Mazama Ash is one of the mostly widely distributed tephra units in North America, present as a visible ash in sediments of early Holocene age. It is considered one of the most important... More ≫

Description

The Mazama Ash is one of the mostly widely distributed tephra units in North America, present as a visible ash in sediments of early Holocene age. It is considered one of the most important stratigraphic markers across this region and is commonly used to ascribe age control to sites. Here we present new major-element geochemical analyses from archaeological and sedimentary sites across south-central Alberta and Saskatchewan. We confirm Mazama at most sites, but the presence of Bridge River (and potentially Mount St. Helens) indicates that major-element geochemical data is an important, if not necessary, component to identifying tephra in this region.

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