Lead analysis of sediment cores from seven Connecticut lakes

Lead analyses were performed on sediment cores from seven Connecticut lakes by dilute acid leaching. The absolute concentrations of lead varied from core to core, but the lead profiles were similar in all of the cores, and each depicted a point where the concentration of lead sharply increased above background levels. The background lead concentrations observed in the bottom portions of the cores ranged from 12-54 g Pb/g sediment with a mean of 30 g Pb/g, and increased to a mean maximum of 310 g Pb/g. In six of the lakes significant increases above background levels were not noted until between 1924 and 1952, suggesting that, at least for Connecticut lakes, the point in a lake sediment core where the concentration of lead began to increase was after ca. 1924, and on average about 1930. Lead concentrations declined in the surface sediments of only three of the lakes, mostly since the 1980's, and presumably in response to the phasing out of leaded gasoline. However, significant declines in lead concentrations were not observed in the remaining cores, possibly due to increased motor vehicle use within the airshed of the lakes and/or changes in the export of lead to the lakes from their watersheds.     

A microtome for sectioning lake sediment cores at a very high resolution

A microtome device for sectioning sediment cores at a very high resolution down to 100 m is described. It is suitable for a variety of applications, but it is described in this paper specifically for diatom analysis. The aim is to facilitate the study of annual or even seasonal variations. The instrument is of simple design and is easy to manipulate.     

The LOG corer – a new device for obtaining short cores in soft lacustrine sediments

A wide variety of scientific disciplines require representative samples of benthic sediment. As a result, a large range of sampling devices have been developed, each best suited to a particular set of conditions. However, all sediment sampling devices have inherent design problems that affect the degree to which samples represent the intact sediment. These issues are summarised, and a new corer design (the LOG corer) is presented and discussed. The LOG corer is a remotely-operated light-weight gravity corer suitable for obtaining relatively undisturbed short sediment cores in soft lacustrine sediments.     

A procedure for preparing large sets of diatom slides from sediment cores

A procedure is described for making diatom microscopy slides from large numbers of sediment samples, simultaneously. The method uses small sediment samples, small test tubes, small amounts of hydrogen peroxide, no decantings, no centrifuging, and it requires no washing-up of glassware. It is, therefore, fast, cheap, gentle to the diatoms and needs little fume cupboard space.     

A new sediment slicer for rapid sectioning of the uppermost sediment cores from marine and freshwater habitats

The new sediment slicer described herein provides an easy and time-efficient way of sectioning cores of varying length, diameter, and composition from a wide range of habitats and sediment types. It is designed to process sediments collected by means of any soft-sediment core sampler with the core tube detachable from the sampler head and trigger unit. It is useful for sectioning core samples that include both the undisturbed sediment/water interface and highly consolidated sediments. The slicer is composed of three parts: (1) a supporting block, (2) a gliding block with the incorporated 10 cm sub-sampler holder designed to glide freely in the grooves along the supporting block, and (3) a metal blade for sediment slicing.     

A portable extruder for accurate and precise high-resolution subsampling of unconsolidated sediment cores

Journal of Paleolimnology - We developed a portable extruder for precise and accurate high-resolution subsampling of unconsolidated sediment cores. This extruder is capable of producing subsamples...     

Reconstructing lake and drainage basin history using terrestrial sediment layers: analysis of cores from a post-glacial lake in New England, USA

Four sediment cores and twenty-five ¹⁴C ages from Ritterbush Pond in northern Vermont provide a detailed and continuous temporal record of Holocene lake and watershed dynamics. Using visual logs, carbon content, magnetic susceptibility, stable isotope signatures, and X-radiography, all measured at 1-cm scale, we identify and date discrete layers of terrestrially-derived sediment in the organic-rich, lacustrine gyttja. These inorganic layers range in thickness from <1 mm to >10 cm and range in grain size and sorting from homogeneous silt to graded sand. AMS radiocarbon ages both from macrofossils within the thickest layers, and gyttja bracketing these layers, provide the basis for correlation among the cores, the dating of 52 basin-wide sedimentation events, and the development of a detailed sedimentation chronology for the Holocene.Physical, chemical, and isotopic analyses suggest the inorganic layers are terrestrially derived and result from hydrologic events large enough to erode and transport sediment from the watershed into the pond. The temporal and spatial distribution of the inorganic layers suggests changing basin-wide sedimentation and thus erosion dynamics since deglaciation over 12,000 years ago. Specifically, for intervals lasting 400 to 1000 years, during the early (>8600 cal yBP), middle (6400 to 6800 cal yBP) and late Holocene (1800 to 2600 cal yBP), the Ritterbush Pond watershed eroded more rapidly than at other times and terrestrially derived material poured into the pond. Analysis of Ritterbush Pond sediments demonstrates the potential for North American lakes to preserve a record of drainage basin dynamics.     

Image analysis as a method to quantify sediment components

Varved lake sediments, with their annual to seasonal resolution, have a high potential for inferring past environmental and climatic conditions. To fully utilize the information present in varved records, high-resolution analyses, which often are time-consuming and difficult to perform, are desirable. The investigation reported here aims at (i) developing image analysis as a method for estimating annual accumulation rates of sediment components such as minerogenic matter, organic matter and biogenic silica, and (ii) assessing the relative importance of these components for changes in varve thickness. Image analysis was used to digitize the grey-scale variations and to measure the varve thickness of 540 varves (476-1015 AD) from Lake Kassjön in northern Sweden. From the 35 cm long digitized sediment sequence, 108 consecutive five-year samples were cut out quantitatively, and relationships between grey-scale variations and sediment dry mass and individual sediment components were assessed. There is a strong correlation between corrected grey-scale (i.e. the product of grey-scale and varve thickness) and the dry mass accumulation rate (r = 0.90, p < 0.001). With a stepwise multiple regression a significant model (R² = 0.81) between corrected grey-scale and the accumulation rates of minerogenic matter (r = 0.90, p < 0.001) and biogenic silica (r 0.26, p < 0.012) was obtained. Considering the minor contribution and weak significance of biogenic silica, image analysis can be used as a fast and non-destructive method to infer past annual accumulation rates of dry mass and minerogenic matter in Kassibn. The model of the relationship between changes in varve thickness, and water content and accumulation rates of sediment components has little predictive power (R² = 0.45). The result shows that the varve thickness in Kassjön, at least during the period 476-1015 AD, is not determined by a single sediment component but partly depends on interactions between the major sediment components.     

Assessment of drought over the past two millennia using near-shore sediment cores from a Canadian boreal lake

Lack of long-term studies on drought in the boreal region of northwest Ontario limits our ability to assess the vulnerability of this region to climate change. We investigated changes in diatoms, scaled chrysophytes, and sedimentary pigments in two near-shore cores from Gall Lake to infer limnological and water-level changes over the last two millennia. The two coring locations, at modern water depths of 7.5 and 11.5 m, were selected to contrast inferences for past lake level based on distance from the modern water-depth boundary between predominantly benthic and planktonic diatom assemblages in surface sediments (6.0 m). Diatom-inferred depth inferences were more variable in the core from 7.5-m water depth, consistent with the hypothesis that the greatest changes occurred at water depths closest to the benthic:planktonic boundary. Both sites revealed a pronounced drought from ~AD 950 to 1300, synchronous with the medieval climate anomaly (MCA). This finding suggests a northeast expansion of the arid MCA into northwest Ontario, extending the known spatial extent of this megadrought. Scaled chrysophytes and sedimentary pigments suggest a recent increase in thermal stratification. Our findings indicate this region is more susceptible to changes in moisture than was previously suspected based on the instrumental record for the past century.     

Morphometric analysis of sediment conduits on a bathymetric high: Implications for palaeoenvironment and hydrocarbon prospectivity

Canyons and other sediment conduits are important components of the deep‐water environment and are the main pathways for sediment transport from the shelf to the basin floor. Using 3‐D and 2‐D seismic reflection data, seismic facies and statistical morphometric analyses, this study showed the architectural evolution of five canyons, two slide scars and four gullies on the southern part of the Loppa High, Barents Sea. Morphometric parameters such as thalweg depth (lowest point on a conduit's base), wall depth (middle point), height, width and base width, sinuosity, thalweg gradient, aspect ratio (width/height) and cross‐sectional area of the conduits were measured at intervals of 250‐m perpendicular to the conduits’ pathways. Our results show that the canyons and slide scars in the study area widen down slope, whereas the gullies are narrow and short with uniform widths. The sediment conduits in the study area evolved in three stages. The first stage is correlated with a time when erosion and bypass were dominant in the conduits, and sediment transferred to the basin in the south. The second stage occurred when basin subsidence was prevalent, and a widespread fine‐grained sequence was deposited as a drape blanketing the canyons and other conduits. A final stage occurred when uplift and glacial erosion configured the entire southern Loppa High into an area of denudation. Our work demonstrates that the morphometric parameters of the canyons, slide scars and gullies generally have increasing linear trends with down‐slope distance, irrespective of their geometries. The morphometric analysis of the sediment conduits in the study area has wider applications for understanding depositional processes, reservoir distribution and petroleum prospectivity in frontier basins.     

Assessing the performance of a diatom transfer function on four Minnesota lake sediment cores: effects of training set size and sample age

Paleolimnological information is often extracted from diatom records using weighted averaging calibration and regression techniques. Larger calibration sample sets yield better inferences because they better characterize the environmental characteristics and species assemblages of the sample region. To optimize inferred information from fossil assemblages, however, it is worth knowing if fewer calibration samples can be used. Furthermore, confidence in environmental reconstructions is greater if we consider the relative importance of (A) similarity between fossil and calibration assemblages and (B) how well fossil taxa respond to the environmental variable of interest. We examine these issues using ~200-year sediment profiles from four Minnesota lakes and a 145-lake surface sediment training set calibrated for total phosphorus (TP). Training set sample sizes ranging from 10 to 145 were created through random sample selection, and models based on these training sets were used to calculate diatom-inferred (DI) TP data from fossil samples. Relationships between DI-TP variability and sample size were used to determine the minimum sample size needed to optimize the model for paleo-reconstruction. Similarly, similarities between fossil and modern assemblages were calculated for each size training set. Finally, fossil and modern assemblages were compared to determine whether older fossil samples had poorer similarity with modern analogs. More than 50–80 samples, depending on lake, were needed to stabilize variability in DI-TP results, and >110 training set samples were needed to minimize modern-fossil assemblage dissimilarities. Dissimilarities appeared to increase with sample age, but only one of the four studied cores displayed a significant trend. We have two recommendations for future studies: (1) be cautious when dealing with smaller training sets, especially if they are used to interpret older fossil assemblages and (2) understand how well fossil taxa are attuned to the variable of interest, as it is critical to evaluating the quality of the diatom-inferred data.     

Magnetic susceptibility in sediment records of Lake Ådran,eastern Sweden: correlation among cores and interpretation

Magnetic susceptibility was used to test the representativity of the lithostratigraphy of a master sediment sequence from Lake Ådran, eastern Sweden. Five further sediment cores from the same lake were correlated and compared with the master sequence using magnetic susceptibility records. Mineral magnetic correlations are generally based on matching prominent susceptibility features but may be significantly improved by using slot sequence analyses. The result of these analyses show that the sediment in the Lake Ådran master sequence can be considered representative for the basin. The variations in the magnetic susceptibility in relation to pollen and diatom analyses also seem to reflect water level changes and shore displacement in the Baltic between 9900 ¹⁴C years B.P. and the isolation at 5900 ¹⁴C years B.P. The first emergence of scattered non-vegetated islands is characterised by high susceptibility values. Along with a continuous water lowering and the development of the vegetation during the Ancylus fresh water stage, susceptibility values gradually decrease. A rapid phase of the Ancylus regression between 9200 and 9000 ¹⁴C years B.P. is seen as an increase in magnetic susceptibility. During the following Baltic brackish water stage, the Litorina stage, susceptibility values are at their lowest, followed by higher values at the isolation from the Baltic with a maximum around 5000 ¹⁴C years B.P.Shore displacement between 9900 and 5900 ¹⁴C years B.P. is discussed based on the magnetic susceptibility measurements and their relationship to the pollen and diatom analyses.     

The potential for paleolimnology to determine historic sediment delivery to rivers

Establishment of water quality criteria to guide catchment sediment management is required by the European Union (EU) Water Framework Directive. The topic, however, is hotly contested among scientists and policy makers. Existing legislation with regard to fine sediment was set by the EU Freshwater Fish Directive. Its guideline, i.e. mean annual suspended sediment concentration, is 25 mg l⁻¹. Such a static target fails to capture the episodic nature of sediment transport. Furthermore, application of such global standards is inappropriate for a pollutant that is strongly controlled by spatial variation in key catchment drivers. Paleolimnology offers an approach for assessing background sediment pressures on watercourses, enabling determination of values for times pre-dating agricultural intensification. We propose that Modern Background Sediment Delivery to Rivers (MBSDR) across England and Wales can be determined using paleolimnology to quantify maximum feasible sediment reduction. No management programme should aim to reduce sediment loss to values below those resulting from background, natural physiographic and/or hydrological controls. Lacking generic tools to quantify process linkages between sediment pressures and biological impact, we propose that MBSDR could be taken to represent ecological demand for sediment inputs into watercourses required to support healthy aquatic habitats. In situations where generic tools exist for coupling sediment pressures and ecological impacts, assessment of MBSDR could be used to correct the gap between current or future projected sediment loss and biological condition. Existing paleolimnological data on sediment yields across England and Wales are presented to illustrate the approach and provide preliminary national estimates of MBSDR. We briefly consider the basis for reconstructing sediment yields using a paleolimnological approach and analyse temporal trends in published sediment yield, inferred for a range of landscape types. We also attempt to correlate sediment accumulation rates (SARs) with sediment yields to extend the MBSDR data base. Preliminary maps were generated to identify regions where further sediment yield data are needed to produce a more robust estimate of the spatial distribution of MBSDR across England and Wales.     

Long cores from small lakes—recovering up to 100 m-long lake sediment sequences with a high-precision rod-operated piston corer (Usinger-corer)

We present a unique, versatile piston corer for recovering continuous lake and bog sediment sequences with superior accuracy and quality. The main components of the system and their function are described, with special focus on measures for obtaining long, continuous lake sediment sections up to a current maximum length of 95 m. Examples of lake sediment profiles obtained with this system from different climatic zones are presented.