Genesis and growth of a carbonate Holocene wedge on the northern Little Bahama Bank

The formation of the wedge started at 13.6 ± 3.5 kyr cal BP following the meltwater pulse 1 A. It was supplied by shallow environment-derived particles produced on four narrow terraces between 60 and 20 mbsl after meltwater pulses. Since the LGM (Last Glacial Maximum), terrace formation seems to correspond to periods of sea-level stillstands and wedge formation, whilst escarpments correspond to periods of high rates of rising sea-level due to meltwater pulses. The main period of wedge growth started around 6.5 ± 0.9 kyr cal BP, when sea level finally reached the platform margins. The maximum flooding period around 4 kyr cal BP is characterized by the highest contents of aragonite needles exported from the platform.