Relationships between environmental variables and zooplankton subfossils in the surface sediments of 36 shallow coastal brackish lakes with special emphasis on the role of fish

Subfossil zooplankton assemblages (Cladocera 22 taxa, Rotifera 1 taxon) were identified from the surface sediments of 36 shallow (median depth = 0.7 m) Danish coastal brackish lakes differing in epilimnic salinity (SAL, range 0.2–17.4), summer-mean total phosphorus (TP, 27–327 g l^–1) and total nitrogen (TN, 0.850–2.629 mg l^–1), as well as in submerged macrophyte coverage and planktivorous fish density (PL-CPUE). Cladoceran species richness declined significantly with increasing SAL, TP and TN, while no significant correlation was found to either PL-CPUE, macrophyte coverage or lake surface area. Bonferroni-adjusted forward selection within canonical correspondence analysis (CCA) showed that 22.1% of the variation in zooplankton data was explained by PL-CPUE, SAL and TP uniquely; each variable explaining an almost equally significant amount of variation in the zooplankton data. Predictive models to infer PL-CPUE, SAL and TP were developed using variance weighted-averaging (WA) procedures. Almost similar values of boot-strapped coefficient of determination (r²_{boot-strapped} 0.22–0.38) were produced by the WA inference models of PL-CPUE, SAL and TP, while the inference models of TP produced the lowest boot-strapped root-mean-squared-error of prediction (RMSEP_{boot-strapped} 0.29–0.36 log(TP + 1), g l^–1). Yet, zooplankton TP and SAL optima (WA) were strongly correlated (r² = 0.46), while PL-CPUE optima (WA) were independent of both TP and SAL optima, indicating that only the PL-CPUE inference models are suitable for making reconstructions.     

Development of a diatom-based model for inferring total phosphorus in southeastern Australian water storages

Diatom-based transfer functions for inferring epilimnetic total phosphorus (TP) have been developed from a data set of 33 southeastern Australian water storages. Regular institutional monitoring of these sites has allowed comparison of models developed from TP data covering different time periods. A model based on mean annual TP performs better than models derived from winter maximum TP, spring minimum TP or TP nearest the time of diatom sampling. A mean annual TP model (WA-PLS 2 component) has a jack-knifed diatom-inferred versus measured TP correlation coefficient (r ² _jack) of 0.69 and a root-mean-square-error of prediction (RMSEP) of 0.246 log₁₀g TP l^–1, while alternative models have RMSEP > 0.27. Deletion of two samples with uncharacteristic species composition and environmental conditions improved performance of the mean annual TP model (r ² _jack= 0.74; RMSEP = 0.233 log₁₀g TP l^–1). Comparison with other published diatom-TP calibration models indicates that this model performs relatively well, with possible contributing factors including the extensive characterisation of TP (with an average 15 determinations making up the annual mean) and the dominance of planktonic diatoms in most sites. Downcore application of the model will allow the reconstruction of reservoir nutrient histories since commissioning, and thus provide a basis for understanding and management of reservoirs.     

WA-PLS diatom-based pH, TP and DOC inference models from 42 lakes in the Abitibi clay belt area (Québec, Canada)

The relationship between surficial sediment diatom species and measured environmental variables was explored in lakes from the Abitibi region of western Quebec. Diatom assemblages in 42 lakes were identified and their relationship with measured environmental variables was examined using multivariate statistical methods. Canonical correspondence analysis with forward selection and Monte Carlo permutation tests revealed that the three environmental variables pH, TP and DOC each accounted for statistically significant fractions of the variation in diatom taxa. A training set with 164 modern diatom taxa was used to derive transfer functions for lake-water pH, TP and DOC using weighted-averaging-partial-least-squares (WA-PLS) techniques. The models were developed to infer lake water pH, TP and DOC within the ranges 4–8 for pH, 2.75–30.0 g l^–1 for TP, and 2.9–18.5 mg l^–1 for DOC. These quantitative inference models may now be used to help identify and estimate the effects of natural disturbances on the biogeochemistry of Abitibi lakes during their historical development.     

Modern diatom, cladocera, chironomid, and chrysophyte cyst assemblages as quantitative indicators for the reconstruction of past environmental conditions in the Alps. II. Nutrients

Surface sediments from 68 small lakes in the Alps and 9 well-dated sediment core samples that cover a gradient of total phosphorus (TP) concentrations of 6 to 520 g TP l^-1 were studied for diatom, chrysophyte cyst, cladocera, and chironomid assemblages. Inference models for mean circulation log₁₀ TP were developed for diatoms, chironomids, and benthic cladocera using weighted-averaging partial least squares. After screening for outliers, the final transfer functions have coefficients of determination (r², as assessed by cross-validation, of 0.79 (diatoms), 0.68 (chironomids), and 0.49 (benthic cladocera). Planktonic cladocera and chrysophytes show very weak relationships to TP and no TP inference models were developed for these biota. Diatoms showed the best relationship with TP, whereas the other biota all have large secondary gradients, suggesting that variables other than TP have a strong influence on their composition and abundance. Comparison with other diatom – TP inference models shows that our model has high predictive power and a low root mean squared error of prediction, as assessed by cross-validation.     

Sequential indicator conditional simulation and indicator kriging applied to discrimination of dolomitization in GER 63-channel imaging spectrometer data

Laboratory reflectance spectra of synthetic mixtures of the carbonate minerals calcite and dolomite were measured in the visible and near-infrared wavelength region (0.4–2.5 m) using a high-spectral resolution laboratory spectrometer. The instrument measured reflectivity with an accuracy of 0.001 m, allowing detailed resolution of the carbonate spectrum. The spectra of calcite and dolomite could be characterized by the presence of a strong absorption band centered at 2.3465 m for pure calcite and at 2.3039 m for pure dolomite. Nine mixtures of intermediate composition were analyzed demonstrating that the position of the carbonate absorption band is semilinearly related to the calcite content of the sample. Theoretically, this model allows mapping of dolomitization from high-spectral resolution remotely sensed imagery, GER 63-channel imaging spectrometer data from southern Spain were used to attempt such a mapping. First, pixels of vegetation were removed. For the remaining pixels, the wavelength center of the carbonate absorption band was detected and converted to a category of calcite fraction. The percentage of calcite for the remaining pixels was estimated using direct indicator kriging (IK) and sequential conditional indicator simulation, assuming that the calcite content could be represented as a category variable (SCIS category variable) and as a continuous variable (SCIS continuous variable). Four realizations of an SCIS (category variable) showed that on the average, 60 percent of the data was simulated in the same class and over 90 percent of the data within one class difference. A comparison with field samples showed that IK estimates of calcite content were within 20 percent accurate. The SCIS (continuous variable) does not perform as well with differences between –45% and +26% calcite; however, simulation reproduces the spatial variability better.     

Calibration of diatoms along a nutrient gradient in Florida Everglades Water Conservation Area-2A, USA

The relationship between diatom taxa preserved in surface soils and environmental variables at 31 sites in Water Conservation Area 2A (WCA-2A) of the Florida Everglades was explored using multivariate analyses. Surface soils were collected along a phosphorus (P) gradient and analyzed for diatoms, total P, % nitrogen (N), %carbon (C), calcium (Ca), and biogenic silica (BSi). Phosphorus varied from 315-1781 g g^-1, and was not found to be correlated with the other geochemical variables. Canonical correspondence analysis (CCA) was used to examine which environmental variables correlated most closely with the distributions in diatom taxa. Canonical correspondence analysis with forward selection, constrained and partial CCA, and Monte Carlo permutation tests of significance show the most significant changes in diatom assemblages along the P gradient (p < 0.01), with additional species differences correlated with soil C, N, Ca, and BSi.Weighted-averaging (WA) regression and calibration models of diatom assemblages to P and BSi were developed. The diatom-based inference model for soil [P] had a high apparent r² (0.86) with RMSE_boot = 218 g g^-1. Indicator diatom species identified by assessing species WA optima and WA tolerance to [P], such as Nitzschia amphibia and N. palea for high [P] (~1300-1400 g^-1) and Achnanthes minutissima var. scotica and Mastogloia smithii for low [P] (~400-600 g g^-1), may be useful as monitoring tools for eutrophication in WCA-2A as well as other areas of the Everglades. Diatom assemblages analyzed by cluster analysis were related to location within WCA-2A, and dominant taxa within clusters are discussed in relation to the geochemical variables measured as well as hydrology and pH. Diversity of diatom assemblages and a Disturbance Index based on diatom data are discussed in relation to the historically P-limited Everglades ecosystem. Diatom assemblages should be very useful for reconstructions of [P] through time in the Florida Everglades, provided diatoms are well preserved in soil cores.     

An expanded weighted-averaging model for inferring past total phosphorus concentrations from diatom assemblages in eutrophic British Columbia (Canada) lakes

Eighteen lakes were added to a published training set of 46 British Columbia (BC) lakes in order to expand the original range of total phosphorus (TP) concentrations. Canonical correspondence analysis (CCA) was used to analyze the relationship between diatom assemblages and environmental variables. Specific conductivity and [TP] each explained significant (P0.05) directions of variance in the distribution of the diatoms. The relationship between diatom assemblages and [TP] was sufficiently strong to warrant the development of a weighted-averaging (WA) regression and calibration model that can be used to infer past trophic status from fossil diatom assemblages.The relationship between observed and inferred [TP] was not improved by the addition of more eutrophic lakes, however the [TP] range and the number of taxa used in the transfer function are now superior to the original model. Diatom species assemblages changed very little in lakes with TP concentrations greater than 85 µg 1^–1, so we document the development of a model containing lakes with TP85 µg 1^–1. The updated model uses 59 training lakes and covers a range of species optima from 6 to 41.9 µg 1^–1 TP, and a total of 150 diatom taxa.The updated inference model provided a more realistic reconstruction of the anthropogenic history of a highly eutrophic BC lake. The model can now be used to infer past nutrient conditions in other BC lakes in order to assess changes in trophic status.     

Importance of diffuse nutrient loading and lake level changes to the eutrophication of an originally oligotrophic boreal lake: a palaeolimnological diatom and chironomid analysis

The recent environmental history of Lake Lappajärvi in western Finland (63°00 N, 23°30 E, area 149 km²), a humic, brown water lake with an average phosphorus content of ca. 20 g l^–1, was studied from short core sediment samples taken from the two main basins of the lake. Based on the stratigraphy of diatoms and chironomids and the sediment quality it was possible to distinguish four developmental stages during the past century: (1) a pre-industrial stage covering the time up to about 1935; (2) a stage of increasing nutrient loading (ca. 1936–1960); (3) a stage of pronounced erosion from lake level regulation and extensive ditching of the catchment area (ca. 1960–1970); and (4) a meso-eutrophic stage from ca. 1970 onwards.Acidophilous Aulacoseira distans coll. and other species typical of dystrophic, nutrient-poor lakes characterized the diatom assemblages during the first stage, and the profundal zoobenthic assemblages, characterized by Heterotrissocladius subpilosus and Micropsectra, indicated good hypolimnetic oxygen conditions and a low sedimentation of organic matter (approx. less than 50 g m^–2 a^–1). The increased loading rapidly led to changes both in diatoms and chironomids (e.g., to an early extinction of H. subpilosus in the 1950s). The process finally led to eutrophication with a successive proliferation of diatom species such as Asterionella formosa followed by Aulacoseira ambigua, Fragilaria crotonensis, and finally Melosira varians. The relative proportion of alkaliphilous species reached a maximum in the final stage and the original profundal chironomid fauna was replaced by Chironomus anthracinus gr. and C. plumosus which are typical of profundal areas suffering from temporal oxygen deficit. It is notable that the considerable decrease in waste water loading from the point sources (80–86% ) during the past two decades has not led to a recovery in the lake. This highlights the importance of diffuse loading from agriculture, forestry and other human activities even to this comparatively large lake.     

Determination of orthophosphate in highly saline waters

Standard methods for the determination of phosphorus as phosphate ion are now well established for fresh and marine waters. In highly saline waters, however, salt effects due to ionic strength, or to particular ions present, may result in method interferences. Three methods of analysis of phosphate based on the formation of phosphomolybdenum blue complexes have been evaluated here for hypersaline waters. Stannous chloride reduction in aqueous media exhibits a substantial salt effect and its use is not recommended. Stannous chloride reduction following extraction into non aqueous solvents shows a significant salt effect (up to 30 per cent) in solutions of salinity >100 g L^–1. Dilution of hypersaline waters to below this salinity may overcome the salt effect but the method suffers from other disadvantages involving resource constraints and health and safety considerations. Ascorbic acid reduction, catalysed by antimony (III) ions, appears to offer the most promise for hypersaline waters. Turbidity in samples having high salinity (> 100 g L^–1) and high phosphorus concentrations (> 500 g P L^–1) changes the spectral characteristics of solutions but linear calibration curves still result for concentrations in the range 400 to 1,000 g P L^–1. The occurrence of turbidity is also affected by the ionic composition of hypersaline waters since solutions made from sea salt give different results to those made from sodium chloride. Dilution of samples, to give salinities less than 100 g L^–1 prior to reduction is recommended to avoid turbidity. The salt effect in these lower salinity waters is less than 3 per cent up to 100 g L^–1.     

Processes affecting deposition of sediment in a small, morphologically complex lake

Devil Lake is morphologically complex as a result of Pleistocene glacial erosion of the Frontenac Axis of the Canadian Shield. In order to assess the processes causing highly variable sedimentation in the lake, we monitored currents, suspended sediment and temperature in the lake before and during autumn overturn in 2002. Strong summer thermal stratification (stability number to 0.11 s^–1 declining with the approach of overturn) was insufficient to prevent a dynamic response in the hypolimnion to wind forcing. Superimposed on a gradual increase in suspended sediment concentration in the last weeks of stratification from less than 2 g/l to about 30 g/l were shorter-term rises lasting up to several days. Associated with these events was an increase in particle size of the sediment from a mode of 40–50 to 150–200 m ascribed to flocculation from primary particles. These events culminated in rapid (<1 h) clearing of the water associated with strong, sustained winds over the lake, especially from the southwest. After overturn, the events were more frequent, and flocculation was unable to develop as well in the more vigorous circulation. However, currents in the hypolimnion occurred throughout the period before, during and after overturn with speed related to wind speed, but direction largely independent of wind direction. The results represent an approach to understanding the nature of sedimentary processes and thus to strengthening the use of sedimentary records as proxy in environmental and paleoenvironmental assessment.     

Diatom,pollen, and geochemical evidence for the palaeosalinity of Medicine Lake,S. Dakota,during the late-Wisconsin and early Holocene

Medicine Lake is a highly saline meromictic lake in eastern South Dakota. A lithostratigraphic and biostratigraphic study of the late-glacial and early post-glacial sediments shows that it was a relatively deep dilute freshwater lake during the period of the Picea pollen zone. When spruce forest changed to a Betula and then to a Quercus/Ulmus woodland in the early post-glacial period, the lake water became more concentrated but remained fresh. However, during the subsequent rapid transition to prairie in the early Holocene, when Gramineae, Ambrosia, and Artemisia dominated dry-land vegetation, the freshwater diatom flora was progressively replaced by a saline assemblage characterized by Cyclotella quillensis, Chaetoceros, and eventually Cyclotella caspia. The lake became permanently saline at about 9000 yr BP. A comparison of the fossil diatom assemblages with surface-sediment samples from a range of lakes in the Dakotas indicates that the change involved an increase in conductivity from about 500 S cm^–1 in the late-glacial period to > 10 000 S cm^–1 in the early Holocene. This rapid change is also marked by an abrupt increase in sulphate concentration in the sediment, the first appearance of bands of gypsum crystals, and the beginning of a well-laminated core sequence that continues through the remaining sediment record. Conditions of high salinity have prevailed to the present day.Contribution 299, Limnological Research Center.     

Paleoecological investigations of recent lake acidification in northern Florida

Thirty-two northern Florida lakes were analyzed to construct a transfer function relating surface sediment diatom assemblages to lakewater pH (R ² =0.89, s.e.=0.34). A paleoecological analysis of sediment cores from six of these lakes indicated that two have become more acidic in the last 50 years. The diatom inferred (DI) pH of L. Barco has declined between 0.56–0.82 in the 1900's and DI ANC (acid neutralizing capacity) by 28–46 eq l^-1. The DI pH of nearby L. Suggs has declined 0.91 pH units and its DI ANC by 19 eq l^-1. The timing of the inferred acidification is synchronous with known increases in emissions of sulfates and nitrates that are associated with acidic precipitation. Also, the increasing accumulation of substances related to emissions from the burning of fossil fuels (e.g., Pb, PAH) co-occurs with the lowering of DI pH in the sedimentary record. However, other processes may have accounted for or contributed to recent lake acidification. For instance, the drawdown of local water tables by human consumption may decrease the inseepage of ANC to seepage lakes. Such an effect would be synchronous with increasing depositions of sulfate. There is also clear evidence that Florida lakes are naturally acidic. Thus, paleoecological results indicate acidic deposition to be at certain contributor, but not necessarily the sole cause, of the recent further acidification of some naturally acidic Florida lakes.This is the tenth of a series of papers to be published by this journal which is a contribution of the Paleoecological Investigation of Recent Lake Acidification (PIRLA) project. Drs. D. F. Charles and D. R. Whitehead are guest editors for this series.     

Estimating and simulating the degree of serpentinization of peridotites using hyperspectral remotely sensed imagery

The mineral products resulting from the process of serpentinization, by which primary magnesium silicate minerals in peridotites are replaced by hydrous serpentine-group minerals, are of economic importance since Alpine-type peridotites are the host rocks for virtually all large asbestos deposits, which may be attributed mainly to the serpentine-group mineral chrysotile. Conventional field mapping of the distribution of highly serpentinized areas is time consuming and requires detailed sampling and laboratory analysis. In 0.4- to 2.5-m reflectance spectra of serpentinized peridotites, serpentinization is responsible for a decrease in contrast of olivine-pyroxene iron absorption features and an appearance and increase in OH^– absorption features near 1.4 m and 2.3 m associated with serpentine minerals. The degree of serpentinization is positively correlated with the depth of the 1.4-m and 2.3-m absorption features for samples containing more than 55 weight percent serpentine minerals. Small amounts of magnetite in a sample obscure the spectral contrast and decrease the overall brightness of weakly serpentinized samples. A methodology is used for mapping serpentine minerals in ultrabasic rocks from imaging spectrometer data, which includes (1) vegetation masking, (2) calculating the absorption band depth of the 2.3-m absorption feature in unmasked pixels, (3) translating this value into percent serpentine minerals using an empirical linear model, and (4) estimating the degree of serpentinization at the remaining locations using conditional simulation techniques or ordinary block kriging. From the results of this study, it can be concluded that mapping the degree of serpentinization from high-spectral resolution imagery is possible within marginal statistical fluctuations. Conditional simulation reproduces the spatial and statistical variability of the data set; however, it sacrifices the local accuracy. Direct estimation using ordinary kriging provides a better local estimate but does not honor the statistics and spatial dispersion of the original data.The spectral analyses presented in this publication were carried out at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California. The author would like to thank Mrs. Cindy Grove for her help in processing the samples. Dr. Harold Lang is thanked for advice in interpreting the spectra. The article benefitted from critical comments by Dr. Roger Clark and Dr. John Mustard, and various discussions with Prof. Salemon Kroonenberg and Prof. Andrea Fabbri. The Spectral Image Processing System (SIPS) developed at the Center for the Study of Earth from Space (CSES) of the University of Colorado, Boulder, was used for the GERIS data calibration. This article benefitted from a critical review by Dr. Daniel H. Knepper, Jr.     

Paleohydrology and paleochemistry of Lake Manitoba,Canada: the isotope and ostracode records

Lake Manitoba, the largest lake in the Prairie region of North America, contains a fine-grained sequence of late Pleistocene and Holocene sediment that documents a complex postglacial history. This record indicates that differential isostatic rebound and changing climate have interacted with varying drainage basin size and hydrologic budget to create significant variations in lake level and limnological conditions. During the initial depositional period in the basin, the Lake Agassiz phase (12–9 ka), ¹⁸O of ostracodes ranged from –16 to –5 (PDB), implying the lake was variously dominated by cold, dilute glacial meltwater and warm to cold, slightly saline water.Candona subtriangulata, which prefers cold, dilute water, dominates the most negative ¹⁸O intervals, when the basin was part of proglacial Lake Agassiz. At times during this early phase, the ¹⁸O of the lake abruptly shifted to higher values; euryhaline taxa such asC. rawsoni orLimnocythere ceriotuberosa, and halobiont taxa such asL. staplini orL. sappaensis are dominant in these intervals. This positive covariance of isotope and ostracode records implies that the lake level episodically fell, isolating the Lake Manitoba basin from the main glacial lake.¹⁸O values from inorganic endogenic Mg-calcite in the post-Agassiz phase of Lake Manitoba trend from –4 at 8 ka to –11 at 4.5 ka. We interpret that this trend indicates a gradually increasing influence of isotopically low (–20 SMOW) Paleozoic groundwater inflow, although periods of increased evaporation during this time may account for zones of less negative isotopic values. The ¹⁸O of this inorganic calcite abruptly shifts to higher values (–6) after 4.5 ka due to the combined effects of increased evaporative enrichment in a closed basin lake and the increased contribution of isotopically high surface water inflow on the hydrologic budget. After 2 ka, the ¹⁸O of the Mg-calcite fluctuates between –13 and –7, implying short-term variability in the lake's hydrologic budget, with values indicating the lake varied from outflow-dominated to evaporation-dominated. The ¹³C values of Mg-calcite remain nearly constant from 8 to 4.5 ka and then trend to higher values upward in the section. This pattern suggests primary productivity in the lake was initially constant but gradually increased after 4.5 ka.This is the sixth in a series of papers published in this issue on the paleolimnology of arid regions. These papers were presented at the Sixth International Palaeolimnology Symposium held 19–21 April, 1993 at the Australian National University, Canberra, Australia. Dr A. R. Chivas served as guest editor for these papers.     

Chrysophyte cysts as paleolimnological indicators of environmental change due to cottage development and acidic deposition in the Muskoka-Haliburton region, Ontario, Canada

Chrysophyte cysts preserved in recent and pre-industrial lake sediment samples from 54 Muskoka-Haliburton (Ontario) lakes were used in a paleolimnological study to determine the impact of acidic precipitation and cottage development on water quality. A total of 246 cyst morphotypes were identified. Ecological preferences of cyst morphotypes were determined using multivariate statistical analysis, cluster analysis, and species-environment correlations. Recent cyst assemblages were related to water chemistry and lake morphometric variables using Redundancy Analysis (RDA). The distribution of morphotypes was related to a gradient of acid neutralising capacity (ANC), expressed through the association of variables related to buffering (i.e. longitude, watershed area, and ionic concentration) with the first axis (₁ = 0.29). Cyst assemblages were also defined, to a lesser extent (₂ = 0.06), by a trophic status gradient, created through the combination of total nitrogen (TN), total phosphorus (TP), volume-weighted cottage density, and lake depth variables. The identification of lakewater pH and trophic status as important determinants of cyst assemblage structure allowed for the reconstruction of acidification and eutrophication related water chemistry changes using fossil cyst assemblages. The reconstruction of pre-industrial (pre-1850) water quality conditions with fossil cyst assemblages indicated that pH significantly decreased in 24.1% of the study lakes and increased in 16.7% of the lakes. Increases in pH in more alkaline drainage basins are attributed to alkalinity generation processes induced by acidic precipitation as has been shown in other studies. Total phosphorus (TP) concentrations significantly declined in 12.9% of the lakes and increased in 16.6% of lakes. Increases in [TP] were linked to cottage development. Decreases in trophic status may be due to landuse changes, the result of the acidification occurring in the area, or warmer and drier climates. A comparison of chrysophyte cyst and diatom water quality inferences show similar trends in pH changes. There is a good agreement between diatom and chrysophyte bioindicators with respect to [TP] changes in oligotrophic lakes (< 10 g/L); however, diatom inferences suggest that lakes with current [TP] values greater than 10 g/L have decreased in trophic status over time, while chrysophyte reconstructions suggest that these same lakes have become more productive systems.     

1400-year cold/warm fluctuations reflected by environmental magnetism of a lake sediment core from the Chen Co, southern Tibet, China

Lake Chen Co, situated at 90°33–39E, 28°53–59N with a lake level of 4420 m asl, is an enclosed lake with 148 km² of catchment area and 40 km² of lake surface. It is mainly supplied by glacier melt water either from surface inflow or groundwater. Atmospheric precipitation is mainly concentrated in June–September. A 216-cm long lake sediment core was obtained at a site with 8 m of water depth, 800 m from the lakeshore and 1.5% of the bottom slope in this lake. The sediment core was taken by a piston sampler and was sliced with an interval of 1 cm each. ²¹⁰Pb dating measurement suggested that the average sedimentary rate was 0.16 cm yr^–1, which also was confirmed by ¹³⁷Cs peak occurrence. Magnetic analyses included low-frequency dependent susceptibility (_LF), susceptibility of anhysteretic remanent magnetism (_ARM), the saturation isothermal remanent magnetism (SIRM), the isothermal remanent magnetism (IRM) reverse and Soft and Hard contents were performed for the sediment core. Results showed that _LF was an index for reflecting the environmental conditions, but was not sufficient to reveal details of magnetic features. This had been proved by measurements of IRM Reverse percentage and Soft and Hard magnetic minerals values. The log(SIRM/_LF) had much more information to reveal environmental changes. The _ARM/_LF might be more sensitive to the local environmental conditions because it was well able to indicate the grain-size variations of magnetic particles. In the past ca. 1400 years, the warm stages were ca. 620–740 AD, 1120–1370 AD and since ca. 1900 AD. After an intensively cold stage during ca. 1550–1690 AD, a cold-humid stage from ca. 1690–1900 AD and a warm-dry stage since ca. 1900 AD followed. Among these stages, the warmest one occurred in ca. 1120–1370 AD and the coldest stage was between ca. 1550 and 1690 AD. This result might be compared with many other research results from lake cores, ice cores and the Chinese historical documents.     

Abrupt changes in climatic conditions across the late-glacial/Holocene transition on the N. E. Tibet-Qinghai Plateau: evidence from Lake Qinghai, China

A multi-proxy investigation of two sediment cores from the large closed-basin Lake Qinghai provides evidence of abrupt changes in paleolimnological conditions across the late-glacial/Holocene transition. The chronology of the lacustrine sediment sequence is framed by four AMS ¹⁴C ages for aquatic-plant macrofossil seeds. Four distinct stratigraphic units are identified on the basis of abrupt shifts in lithology, carbonate composition, ¹⁸O of authigenic carbonates, magnetic susceptibility characteristics, and total nitrogen content. These units represent four environmental stages that were each initiated by three abrupt changes in hydro-climatic regime at 11,600, 10,700, and 10,000 ¹⁴C yrs B.P. Each of the four environmental stages thus represents a characteristic precipitation-to-evaporation balance for the lake catchment. The paleoenvironmental evidence indicates that the lake before 11,600 ¹⁴C yrs B.P. was very shallow with carbonate production and organic productivity much lower than in the Holocene, suggesting a much colder and drier climate than in the Holocene. From 11,600 to 10,700 ¹⁴C yrs B.P., the presence of clastic laminations and Ruppia fossil seeds suggests an increased inflow of sediment-laden waters into the lake. Between 10,700 and 10,000 ¹⁴C yrs B.P., the development of a carbonate playa lake indicates that a negative water balance persisted. From 10,000 ¹⁴C yrs B.P. an abrupt increase in rainfall is suggested by a sudden termination of the playa lake environment and the diluted lake waters, as evidenced by negative shift in both total carbonate content and ¹⁸O values of mineral carbonate. However, the lake level during the early Holocene was about 20 m shallower than today, indicating that the effective moisture then was much lower than it is today. The multi-proxy record suggests a step-wise pattern of climatic change across the late-glacial/Holocene transition along with abrupt shifts in P-E balance on the N. E. Tibet-Qinghai Plateau. This pattern is characterized by reorganization of Asian monsoon circulation, which probably was determined by increasing summer insolation and changes in surface boundary conditions accompanying regional deglaciation. The arid event at 10,700–10,000 ¹⁴C yrs B.P. is interpreted as a Younger Dryas equivalent, although climatic cooling is not indicated by the evidence at hand.     

Water isotopic and hydrochemical evolution of a lake chain in the northern Great Plains and its paleoclimatic implications

Oxygen isotopes and geochemistry from lake sediments are commonly used as proxies of past hydrologic and climatic conditions, but the importance of present-day hydrologic processes in controlling these proxies are sometimes not well established and understood. Here we use present-day hydrochemical data from 13 lakes in a hydrologically connected lake chain in the northern Great Plains (NGP) to investigate isotopic and solute evolution along a hydrologic gradient. The ¹⁸O and ²H of water from the chain of lakes, when plotted in ²H - ¹⁸O space, form a line with a slope of 5.9, indicating that these waters fall on an evaporation trend. However, 10 of the 13 lakes are isotopically similar (¹⁸O = –6 ± 1 VSMOW) and show no correlation with salinity (which ranges from 1 to 65). The lack of correlation implies that the isotopic composition of various source waters rather than in-lake evaporation is the main control of the ¹⁸O of the lakes. Groundwater, an important input in the water budget of this chain of lakes, has a lower ¹⁸O value (–16.7 in 1998) than that of mean annual precipitation (–11) owing to selective recharge from snow melt. For the lakes in this chain with salinity < 15, the water Mg/Ca ratios are strongly correlated with salinity, whereas Sr/Ca is not. The poor correlation between Sr/Ca and salinity results from uptake of Sr by endogenic aragonite. These new results indicate that ¹⁸O records may not be interpreted simply in term of climate in the NGP, and that local hydrology needs to be adequately investigated before a meaningful interpretation of sedimentary records can be reached.     

Lake levels in the southern Bolivian Altiplano (19°–21°S.) during the Late Glacial based on diatom studies

This study is focused on the endorheic Uyni-Coipasa Basin located in the southern Bolivian Altiplano. Stratigraphical and fossil diatom studies based on a detailed radiocarbon chrnology revealed six phases in water-level changes and paleosalinity variations. At 15,430±80 yr B.P., lacustrine conditions settled in the southern Bolivian Altiplano. A saline lake, characterized by benthic meso-metasaline species, reached +4 m altitude above the present bottom of the basin. After 15,430±80 yr B.P., the level rapidly rose to +27 m, as suggested by a tychoplanktonic mesosaline flora. Between 14,500 years and 13,000 years, finely lanminated sediments at +32 m contained successively a dominance of epiphytic mesosaline to hypersaline species and tychoplanktonic oligosaline diatoms, indicating weak fluctuations in water-level and salinity. At 13,000 years, strong changes in the diatom flora occurred; epiphytic oligo-hypersaline diatoms were replaced by planktonic meso-polysaline species. They indicate a deep salt lake (the lake reached +100 m). After 12,000 years, the lake level abruptly dropped, as suggested by fluviatile sediments with a benthic mesopolysaline diatom flora. The main lake was replaced by shallow saline ponds. A wet pulse occurred at 11,400 years, characterized by low water level (+7 m) and high salinity. This lacustrine phase remained until 10,400 yr B.P. These data indicate changes in Precipitation minus Evaporation (P-E). Our regional interpretations are based on a comparison with teh available data on the northern (Lake Titicaca) and southern (Lipez are) Bolivian Altiplano and on the northern Chilean Altiplano (Atacama Desert).     

Paleoecological investigation of recent lake acidification in the Adirondack Mountains,N.Y.

Paleoecological analysis of the sediment record of 12 Adirondack lakes reveals that the 8 clearwater lakes with current pH < 5.5 and alkalinity < 10 eq l^-1 have acidified recently. The onset of this acidification occurred between 1920 and 1970. Loss of alkalinity, based on quanitative analysis of diatom assemblages, ranged from 2 to 35 eq l^-1. The acidification trends are substantiated by several lines of evidence including stratigraphies of diatom, chrysophyte, chironomid, and cladoceran remains, Ca:Ti and Mn:Ti ratios, sequentially extracted forms of Al, and historical fish data. Acidification trends appear to be continuing in some lakes, despite reductions in atmospheric sulfur loading that began in the early 1970s. The primary cause of the acidification trend is clearly increased atmospheric deposition of strong acids derived from the combustion of fossil fuels. Natural processes and watershed disturbances cannot account for the changes in water chemistry that have occurred, but they may play a role. Sediment core profiles of Pb, Cu, V, Zn, S, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, magnetic particles, and coal and oil soot provide a clear record of increased atmospheric input of materials associated with the combustion of fossil fuels beginning in the late 1800s and early 1900s. The primary evidence for acidification occurs after that period, and the pattern of water chemistry response to increased acid inputs is consistent with current understanding of lake-watershed acidification processes.This is the second of a series of papers to be published by this journal which is a contribution of the Paleoecological Investigation of Recent Lake Acidification (PIRLA) project. Drs. D.F. Charles and D.R. Whitehead are guest editors for this series.