Postglacial diatom stratigraphy in relation to the recession of Glacial Lake Agassiz

The sediment and diatom stratigraphy of a small pond on The Pas moraine, near Grand Rapids, Manitoba, reveals a change in sedimentary environment related directly to the last stages of Glacial Lake Agassiz. Beach sands were replaced by clay 7300 ¹⁴C y. a., then by organic silt and, at 4000 ¹⁴C y. a. by coarse organic detritus; the corresponding diatom assemblages were (I) a predominantly planktonic spectrum in beach sands, (II) a rich assemblage of nonplanktonic forms, and (III) a distinctly nonplanktonic acidophilous spectrum. These results confirm Elson's (1967) reconstruction of the extent and chronology of the final (Pipun) stage of Glacial Lake Agassiz. The sedimentary environments change from a sandy beach of a large lake at 7300 BP to a small, shallow eutrophic pond with clay and silt deposition from 7000 to 4000 BP. From 4000 BP to the present, organic detritus was deposited in a shallow pond that tended toward dystrophy.