the past. Florida Bay peats are chiefly root peats and contain only minor amounts of 
stem wood. Thirteen peat types are identified from the Bay including three marine, two 
brackish, and eight freshwater types. Many of these peats are indistinguishable from 
peats from the mainland Florida. A concept of 'secondary* peat types is presented for 
peats extensively intruded from above by roots of plants growing in differing overlying 
environments. Freshwater marsh peats are more fine-grained than the fibrous, rocky, 
marine peats present in the Bay. Charcoal is consistently more abundant in freshwater, 
marsh peat types, especially those comprised chiefly of Mariscus jamaicensis and 
Acrostichum spp. remains, than in brackish and marine swamp peats. Foraminiferal 
remains are common in many marine peats. Siliceous sponge spicules are present only 
in the younger marine sediments. Microscopically identifiable plant fragments, 
palynomorphs, charcoal, sponge spicules, foraminiferal remains, and radiolaria are 
useful in paleoenvironmental reconstruction. The sedimentary record of peat in Florida 
Bay is a cycle consisting of a clearly defined transgressive sequence. The cycle 
beginning at the base includes: (a) freshwater carbonate mud; (b) freshwater marsh 
and swamp peat; (c) brackish water peat; and (d) marine peat. The cycle is not always 
complete, but the sequence is always the same. 
1972 0 
Friedmann, E. I., W. C. Roth, J. B. Turner, and R. S. McEwen (1972) Calcium oxalate 
crystals in the aragonite-producing green alga Penicillus and related genera. Science . 
1 77(4052):891 -3. 
[DATE OF SAMPLING UNKNOWN OR NOT APPLICABLE.] Calcium oxalate crystals occur in 
the marine green algae Penicillus, Rhipocephalus, and Udotea, known as producers of 
sedimentary aragonite needles. In contrast to the externally deposited aragonite 
crystals which are generally < 15 nm long, the oxalate crystals are larger (up to 150 
^im) and are located in the vacuolar system of the plant. No calcium oxalate was found 
in the related but noncalcifying genera Avrainvillea and Cladocephalus. Algae specimens 
were collected in Florida Bay. 
1972 0 
Gebelein, C. (1972) Sedimentology and ecology of a Recent carbonate facies mosaic, Cape 
Sable, Florida. Ph. D. Dissertation. Brown University, Providence, Rl. 237 pp. 
[NO COPY OF PAPER AVAILABLE. ABSTRACT FROM SCHMIDT (1991).] A study of the 
sedimentary processes encountered in the recent, shallow marine intertidal carbonate 
deposits in and around Lake Ingrahm, Cape Sable was conducted to describe the nature 
of facies changes, sedimentation products, and organism - sediment interactions. The 
following sedimentary environments were described: mud flats, subtidal muds, 
mangrove flats, marl prairies, and inland lagoons including zonational characteristics, 
organism abundance and diversity, sedimentation rates and mechanics. A total 
sedimentation budget was estimated by comparing recent marine deposits accumulated 
since the opening of the canals in 1922 which drastically changed sedimentation style 
from fresh-brackish water conditions to a fully marine complex. A lack of diagenesis in 
Lake Ingrahm was explained by the youthfulness of deposits found at Cape Sable. Cape 
Sable deposits were compared with recent tidal flats in the Bahamas, Persian Gulf, and 
ancient tidal flat sediments. [Also published as Dynamics of recent carbonate 
sedimentation and ecology - Cape Sable. Florida (1977), Inter. Sed. Petro. Ser., Leiden 
& Brill., Vol. 16., 115 pp.] 
1972 0 
Ginsburg, R. N. (ed.). (1972) South Florida carbonate sediments. Sedimenta II. Comparative 
Sedimentology Laboratory, University of Miami, Fisher Island Station, Miami Beach, FL. 72 
PP- 
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