Application of the anisotropy of magnetic susceptibility method as an indicator of bottom-water flow direction

Abstract

A piston core from the southeast Indian Ocean, recovered from the margin of a boundary contour current has been used to apply the anisotropy of magnetic susceptibility (AMS) method to estimate current flow direction in sediment samples from an unoriented piston core. The AMS results are in good agreement with flow direction estimates determined independently and indicate that magnetic grain alignment is current-parallel. Comparison of the relative bottom-water velocity, inferred from AMS magnitudes, with paleoclimate, based on a published total faunal curve, indicates that bottom-water velocity in the contour current does not correlate with climate.