The sedimentary response to a pioneer geo‐engineering project: Tracking the Kander River deviation in the sediments of Lake Thun (Switzerland)

Human activities such as river corrections and deviations, lake‐level regulations and installations of hydropower plants affect and often strongly modify natural processes in lacustrine systems. In 1714, the previously bypassing Kander River was deviated into peri‐alpine Lake Thun. This pioneering geo‐engineering project, the first river correction of such dimensions in Switzerland, doubled the water and sediment input to the lake. In order to evaluate the sedimentary consequences of the Kander River deviation, the lacustrine sediments were investigated using a combined approach of high‐resolution (3·5 kHz) reflection seismic data and sediment cores (maximum length 2·5 m). The significance of this study is increased by the possible hazard represented by ammunition dumped into the lake (from 1920 to 1960) and by the recent installation of a gas pipeline on the lake floor in 2007/2008. The first 130 years after the river deviation were dominated by an extremely high sediment input, which led to the frequent occurrence of subaquatic mass movements. Slope failures primarily occur due to rapid sediment accumulation, but were occasionally triggered in combination with earthquake‐induced shocks and lake‐level fluctuations. After 1840, mass‐movement activity and sedimentation rates decreased due to a reduced sediment input as the Kander River adjusted to its new base level and, to a smaller degree, by further engineering of the Kander River bed and gravel withdrawal at the Kander Delta. A further consequence of the Kander River deviation is that the shores around Lake Thun have been more frequently affected by flooding due to the increased water input. In the time span from 1850 to 2006, six historically and/or instrumentally documented flood events could be correlated to flood turbidites in the sediment cores. This study demonstrates the significant usefulness of lacustrine sediments, not only in archiving natural hazards and human impact but also in assessing the consequences of future anthropogenic interventions on lacustrine systems.     

6600 years of earthquake record in the Julian Alps (Lake Bohinj,Slovenia)

Sequences of lake sediments often form long and continuous records that may be sensitive recorders of seismic shaking. A multi‐proxy analysis of Lake Bohinj sediments associated with a well‐constrained chronology was conducted to reconstruct Holocene seismic activity in the Julian Alps (Slovenia). A seismic reflection survey and sedimentological analyses identified 29 homogenite‐type deposits related to mass‐wasting deposits. The most recent homogenites can be linked to historical regional earthquakes (i.e. 1348 ad , 1511 ad and 1690 ad ) with strong epicentral intensity [greater than ‘damaging’ (VIII ) on the Medvedev–Sponheuer–Karnik scale]. The correlation between the historical earthquake data set and the homogenites identified in a core isolated from local stream inputs, allows interpretation of all similar deposits as earthquake related. This work extends the earthquake chronicle of the last 6600 years in this area with a total of 29 events recorded. The early Holocene sedimentary record is disturbed by a seismic event (6617 ± 94 cal yr bp ) that reworked previously deposited sediment and led to a thick sediment deposit identified in the seismic survey. The period between 3500 cal yr bp and 2000 cal yr bp is characterized by a major destabilization in the watershed by human activities that led to increases in erosion and sedimentation rates. This change increased the lake's sensitivity to recording an earthquake (earthquake‐sensitivity threshold index) with the occurrence of 72 turbidite‐type deposits over this period. The high turbidite frequency identified could be the consequence of this change in lake earthquake sensitivity and thus these turbidites could be triggered by earthquake shaking, as other origins are discarded. This study illustrates why it is not acceptable to propose a return period for seismic activity recorded in lake sediment if the sedimentation rate varies significantly.     

Flood-triggered versus earthquake-triggered turbidites: A sedimentological study in clastic lake sediments (Eklutna Lake,Alaska)

Lake sediments in Eklutna Lake, Alaska, reveal the presence of turbidites within varved sequences. These turbidites, which result from flood events and earthquakes, show a similar macroscopic appearance. In order to use turbidites to reconstruct flood variability and/or seismic history in the lake basin, it is crucial to determine the trigger of the turbidity currents. This study examined the turbidite caused by the ad 1964 Great Alaska earthquake as well as turbidites linked to historical flood events in order to differentiate between these earthquake-triggered and flood-triggered turbidites. In a suite of samples from throughout the lake, distinctive proxies are identified that can be associated with event-specific flow characteristics. The study presents straightforward discrimination methods related to the sedimentology and geochemical components of the turbidites. These methods are also applicable to other lakes, particularly proglacial lakes where the sediment composition of onshore and offshore sources is similar. Finally, the discrimination of the turbidite trigger can be used to reconstruct the palaeoflood and seismic history.     

Determination of turbidity current erosional characteristics from reworked coccolith assemblages, Canary Basin, north-east Atlantic

Turbidites contain mixtures of sediments of various ages. These sediments can include both material that was eroded to form the initial turbidity current plus additions derived from erosion of the sea floor during transport. It has been possible to interpret the age range of sediments incorporated into individual turbidites from the Madeira Abyssal Plain by examining the proportions of microfossil (coccolith) species that they contain. The pelagic record of coccoliths is well known for the Quaternary period and shows a succession of dominant species or acmes each lasting a few tens of thousand years. Hence, erosion of sediment representing more than a few tens of thousand years will produce coccolith mixtures not seen in the pelagic record, but dependent upon the age range of the sediments that were eroded. This age range can be estimated by comparison with synthetic ratios of coccolith species created by combining ratios of species from successively older layers in the pelagic record. These can then be compared with the ratios found in individual turbidites until a match is found. The results show age ranges of 54–500 kyr for the sediment mixture in seven turbidites from the Madeira Abyssal Plain. Since the volumes of these turbidites are also known, and accumulation rates in their source areas can be estimated, it is possible to determine both the thickness and the area of the eroded sediment mass that generated the turbidity current. Minimum depths of erosion on the north-west African continental margin vary from 8 to 50 m and minimum areas eroded from 1600 to 5800 km². None of the turbidites examined contains a significant excess of surface sediment, suggesting that, once formed, the turbidity currents that transported them were virtually non-erosional, and that they travelled several hundred kilometres in this state.     

Middle to Late Pleistocene lake‐level fluctuations of Lake El'gygytgyn,far‐east Russian Arctic

Lake El'gygytgyn, located in central Chukotka, Russian Arctic, was the subject of an international drilling project that resulted in the recovery of the longest continuous palaeoclimatic and palaeoenvironmental record for the terrestrial Arctic covering the last 3.6 million years. Here, we present the reconstruction of the lake‐level fluctuations of Lake El'gygytgyn since Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 7 based on lithological and palynological as well as chronological studies of shallow‐water sediment cores and subaerial lake terraces. Reconstructed lake levels show an abrupt rise during glacial–interglacial terminations (MIS 6/5 and MIS 2/1) and during the MIS 4/3 stadial–interstadial transition. The most prominent lowstands occurred during glacial periods associated with a permanent lake‐ice cover (namely MIS 6, MIS 4 and MIS 2). Major triggering mechanisms of the lake‐level fluctuations at Lake El'gygytgyn are predominantly changes in air temperature and precipitation. Regional summer temperatures control the volume of meltwater supply as well as the duration of the lake‐ice cover (permanent or seasonal). The duration of the lake‐ice cover, in turn, enables or hampers near‐shore sediment transport, thus leading to long‐term lake‐level oscillations on glacial–interglacial time scales by blocking or opening the lake outflow, respectively. During periods of seasonal ice cover the lake level was additionally influenced by changes in precipitation. The discovered mechanism of climatologically driven level fluctuations of Lake El'gygytgyn are probably valid for large hydrologically open lakes in the Arctic in general, thus helping to understand arctic palaeohydrology and providing missing information for climate modelling.     

Late Quaternary mass movement on the lower continental rise and abyssal plain off Western Sahara

The late Quaternary development of part of the lower continental rise off Western Sahara has been determined from an investigation of short (< 2 m) gravity cores collected from a deep-sea channel, the interchannel areas and an abyssal hill, between 30 and 33°N. Stratigraphic analysis is based on systematic variations in abundances of particular coccolith species and pelagic sediment types, referenced to the oxygen isotope time-scale. During the last 73 000 years deposition in the channel has included volcaniclastic sand/silt turbidites and minor marl turbidites as well as pelagic sediments. The interchannel area has fewer turbidites, and the sands present were probably deposited from turbidity currents which spilt over the channel sides. The last‘event’ to give rise to sands in the channel and interchannel area occurred about 45 000 years ago. Although the channel has been inactive as an area of turbidity current deposition for the last 20 000 years, sands were deposited elsewhere on the lower rise, indicating that turbidity current transport routes have varied in time. Turbidity current deposition on the abyssal plain and low-lying continental rise appears to be related to distinct sliding events involving transport of material from various sources. Thin marl turbidites are interbedded with pelagic sediments in the area of sediment drape. There is a strong correlation between these and the thick marl turbidites on the abyssal plain, suggesting that the same turbidity current‘events’, occurring about once every 25 000 years, gave rise to both sets of deposits. The thinner units probably represent deposition from the outer parts or tails of the large turbidity flows. The turbidites occur at glacial/interglacial transitions, suggesting that the slides that created them were triggered by mechanisms related to climatic change. Several volcaniclastic sand/silt units within the channel and in interchannel areas occupy mid-stage stratigraphic positions, perhaps indicating a different triggering mechanism for slides around volcanic islands. A debris flow deposit (debrite), between 30°N, 21°W and 31°N, 24°W, is related to the Saharan Sediment Slide, a major mass movement feature on the continental slope over 1000 km to the southeast. Stratigraphic correlations indicate that this slide produced a large turbidity current as well as a debris flow.     

鄂尔多斯盆地西南部延长组6段重力流沉积特征及其油气地质意义

鄂尔多斯盆地南部延长组长6油层组中发现大量块状无层理砂岩,属陡坡带处堆积的三角洲前缘沉积物沿斜坡滑塌形成的重力流沉积。综合岩芯、露头、测井及分析化验资料,认为延长组发育滑塌岩、液化沉积物流、砂质碎屑流和经典浊流等多种类型的重力流,不同类型重力流沉积特征差异明显;其中地形坡度、物源供给和一定的触发机制是形成长6重力流沉积的基本条件;在流动过程中由于水的混入和沉积物卸载,重力流沉积物发生浓度变化和流态转换,形成滑塌岩-砂质碎屑流、砂质碎屑流-浊流、浊流等不同组合类型;重力流砂岩延伸至半深湖-深湖相泥岩中,与长7烃源岩侧向连通,形成有利的成藏组合,是研究区延长组重要的勘探目标区。     

Continuous record of environmental changes in Chukotka during the last 350 thousand years

The comprehensive study of the upper 1283 cm of sediment from Lake El’gygytgyn, which formed nearly 4 Ma ago following a meteorite impact in northern Chukotka, yielded the first continuous record of the extreme changes in the Beringian climate and vegetation from the middle Middle Pleistocene to recent time (equivalent of marine isotope stages of 1–7 and the upper part of isotope stage 8). During this period, the climate was warmer than at present between 8600 and 10 7000 ¹⁴C years and during the Late Pleistocene (isotope substage 5e, 116–128 ka ago). In 2003, the German-Russian-USA expedition continued studying sediments of Lake El’gygytgyn to obtain new evidence of the change in the vegetation cover in the Middle Pleistocene and the first information on the Middle Pleistocene interglacial (isotope stage 9; 297–347 ka ago). Pollen spectra characterizing the Middle Pleistocene interglacial are similar to spectra of the early stage of the Early Pleistocene interglacial and the climatic optimum in the Pleistocene to Holocene transitional period. The climatic history of Lake El’gygytgyn is basic for stratigraphic interpretations and correlations in the eastern sector of the Arctic. These data also expand our understanding of climatic changes that are studied within the framework of the “Pole-Equator-Pole Paleoclimate,” “Past Global Changes,” and other international projects.     

New insight into the evolution of large-volume turbidity currents: comparison of turbidite shape and previous modelling results

The Marnoso Arenacea Formation provides the most extensive correlation of individual flow deposits (beds) yet documented in an ancient turbidite system. These correlations provide unusually detailed constraints on bed shape, which is used to deduce flow evolution and assess the validity of numerical and laboratory models. Bed volumes have an approximately log‐normal frequency distribution; a small number of flows dominated sediment supply to this non‐channelized basin plain. Turbidite sandstone within small‐volume (<0·7 km³) beds thins downflow in an approximately exponential fashion. This shape is a property of spatially depletive flows, and has been reproduced by previous mathematical models and laboratory experiments. Sandstone intervals in larger‐volume (0·7–7 km³) beds have a broad thickness maximum in their proximal part. Grain‐size trends within this broad thickness maximum indicate spatially near‐uniform flow for distances of ∼30 km, although the flow was temporally unsteady. Previous mathematical models and laboratory experiments have not reproduced this type of deposit shape. This may be because models fail to simulate the way in which near bed sediment concentration tends towards a constant value (saturates) in powerful flows. Alternatively, the discrepancy may be the result of relatively high ratios of flow thickness and sediment settling velocity in submarine flows, together with very gradual changes in sea‐floor gradient. Intra‐bed erosion, temporally varying discharge, and reworking of suspension fallout as bedload could also help to explain the discrepancy in deposit shape. Most large‐volume beds contain an internal erosion surface underlain by inversely graded sandstone, recording waxing and waning flow. It has been inferred previously that these characteristics are diagnostic of turbidites generated by hyperpycnal flood discharge. These turbidites are too voluminous to have been formed by hyperpycnal flows, unless such flows are capable of eroding cubic kilometres of sea‐floor sediment. It is more likely that these flows originated from submarine slope failure. Two beds comprise multiple sandstone intervals separated only by turbidite mudstone. These features suggest that the submarine slope failures occurred as either a waxing and waning event, or in a number of stages.     

Postglacial sediment yield to Chilliwack Lake,British Columbia,Canada

Tunnicliffe, J., Church, M. & Enkin, R. J. 2012 (January): Postglacial sediment yield to Chilliwack Lake, British Columbia, Canada. Boreas, Vol. 41, pp. 84–101. 10.1111/j.1502‐3885.2011.00219.x. ISSN 0300‐9483. Seismic records and evidence from sediment cores at Chilliwack Lake provide the basis for a long‐term (postglacial) sediment budget for a 324‐km² Cordilleran catchment. Chilliwack Lake (11.8 km² surface area), situated in the North Cascade Mountains, near Chilliwack, British Columbia, was formed behind a valley‐wide recessional moraine in the final phase of post‐Fraser alpine glaciation. Seismic surveys highlight the postglacial lacustrine record, which is underlain by a thick layer of sediments related to deglacial sedimentation. Sediment cores provide details of grain‐size fining from the delta to the distal lake basin. The cores also show a record of intermittent fire and debris flows. Magnetic measurements of lake sediments provide information on grain size, as well as a dating framework. The total postglacial lake‐floor deposit volume is estimated to be 397 ± 27 × 10⁶ m³. Including estimates of fan and delta deposition, the specific postglacial yield to the lake is calculated to be ～86 ± 13 Mg km² a^?1. The sediment volume in the uppermost (Holocene) lacustrine layer is 128 ± 9 × 10⁶ m³, representing ～41 ± 4 Mg km² a^?1 in the Holocene. Compared with other Cordilleran lakes of similar size, particularly those with glacial cover in the watershed, Chilliwack Lake has experienced relatively modest rates of sediment accumulation. This study provides an important contribution to a growing database of long‐term (postglacial) sediment yield data for major Cordilleran lakes, essential for advancing our understanding of the pace of landscape evolution in formerly glaciated mountainous regions.     

Sediment colour reflectance spectroscopy as a proxy for wet/dry cycles at Lake El'gygytgyn,Far East Russia,during Marine Isotope Stages 8 to 12

Marine Isotope Stage 11 has been proposed as an analogue for the present interglacial interval; yet, terrestrial climate records from both this region and time interval are rare. The sediments deposited at Lake El'gygytgyn (67°30′N, 172°5′E) in Far East Russia contain a 3·56 Ma record of climate variability. This study presents a high‐resolution record of sediment colour change from Marine Isotope Stage 8 to 12 (ca 275 to 475 ka) and demonstrates the link between lake catchment processes and climate variability. The hue colour parameter, calculated from data collected via colour reflectance spectroscopy in the visible spectrum (380 to 720 nm), exhibits correspondence with global climate records. Determining the source of sediment colour changes was achieved through detailed mineralogical and sedimentological methods, and linked to colour changes through a series of colour sensitivity tests. Mineralogical data, measured by X‐ray diffraction, reveal fluctuations in concentrations of clay minerals corresponding to colour changes. Further analyses of the clay mineral assemblages show no change in relative clay mineral abundances, yet demonstrate a lake catchment dominated by physical weathering processes. Using measured mineral abundances, reconstructions of sediment colour based on colour reflectance mineral standards link mineral and clay mineral content to overall sediment colour. Colour sensitivity tests demonstrate the ability of iron oxide minerals to stain sediments red. Additionally, colour sensitivity to organic matter content was tested, suggesting that organic content drives variability in the red portion of the spectrum and darkens the overall colour signal. Sediment colour is then ultimately linked to physical weathering of bedrock minerals, with small amounts of chemical weathering producing iron oxides during wet intervals. Fluctuations in the sediment colour reveal a high‐resolution record of wet/dry cycles, and provide new information about wet periods for the Russian Arctic region not yet understood from other lake proxy records.     

A comparison of the sedimentary records of the 1960 and 2010 great Chilean earthquakes in 17 lakes: Implications for quantitative lacustrine palaeoseismology

Seismically‐induced event deposits embedded in the sedimentary infill of lacustrine basins are highly useful for palaeoseismic reconstructions. Recent, well‐documented, great megathrust earthquakes provide an ideal opportunity to calibrate seismically‐induced event deposits for lakes with different characteristics and located in different settings. This study used 107 short sediment cores to investigate the sedimentary impact of the 1960 M_w 9·5 Valdivia and the 2010 M_w 8·8 Maule earthquakes in 17 lakes in South‐Central Chile (i.e. lakes Negra, Lo Encañado, Aculeo, Vichuquén, Laja, Villarrica, Calafquén, Pullinque, Pellaifa, Panguipulli, Neltume, Riñihue, Ranco, Maihue, Puyehue, Rupanco and Llanquihue). A combination of image analysis, magnetic susceptibility and grain‐size analysis allows identification of five types of seismically‐induced event deposits: (i) mass‐transport deposits; (ii) in situ deformations; (iii) lacustrine turbidites with a composition similar to the hemipelagic background sediments (lacustrine turbidites type 1); (iv) lacustrine turbidites with a composition different from the background sediments (lacustrine turbidites type 2) and (v) megaturbidites. These seismically‐induced event deposits were compared to local seismic intensities of the causative earthquakes, eyewitness reports, post‐earthquake observations, and vegetation and geomorphology of the catchment and the lake. Megaturbidites occur where lake seiches took place. Lacustrine turbidites type 2 can be the result of: (i) local near‐shore mass wasting; (ii) delta collapse; (iii) onshore landslides; (iv) debris flows or mudflows; or (v) fluvial reworking of landslide debris. On the contrary, lacustrine turbidites type 1 are the result of shallow mass wasting on sublacustrine slopes covered by hemipelagic sediments. Due to their more constrained origin, lacustrine turbidites type 1 are the most reliable type of seismically‐induced event deposits in quantitative palaeoseismology, because they are almost exclusively triggered by earthquake shaking. Moreover, they most sensitively record varying seismic shaking intensities. The number of lacustrine turbidites type 1 linearly increases with increasing seismic intensity, starting with no lacustrine turbidites type 1 at intensities between V½ and VI and reaching 100% when intensities are higher than VII½. Combining different types of seismically‐induced event deposits allows the reconstruction of the complete impact of an earthquake.     

Reconstructing 4000 years of mass movement and tsunami history in a deep peri‐Alpine lake (Lake Geneva,France‐Switzerland)

The study of mass movements in lake sediments provides insights into past natural hazards at historic and prehistoric timescales. Sediments from the deep basin of Lake Geneva reveal a succession of six large‐scale (volumes of 22 × 10⁶ to 250 × 10⁶ m³) mass‐transport deposits, associated with five mass‐movement events within 2600 years (4000 cal bp to 563 ad ). The mass‐transport deposits result from: (i) lateral slope failures (mass‐transport deposit B at 3895 ± 225 cal bp and mass‐transport deposits A and C at 3683 ± 128 cal bp ); and (ii) Rhône delta collapses (mass‐transport deposits D to G dated at 2650 ± 150 cal bp , 2185 ± 85 cal bp , 1920 ± 120 cal bp and 563 ad , respectively). Mass‐transport deposits A and C were most probably triggered by an earthquake, whereas the Rhône delta collapses were likely to be due to sediment overload with a rockfall as the external trigger (mass‐transport deposit G, the Tauredunum event in 563 ad known from historical records), an earthquake (mass‐transport deposit E) or unknown external triggers (mass‐transport deposits D and F). Independent of their origin and trigger mechanisms, numerical simulations show that all of these recorded mass‐transport deposits are large enough to have generated at least metre‐scale tsunamis during mass movement initiation. Since the Tauredunum event in 563 ad , two small‐scale (volumes of 1 to 2 × 10⁶ m³) mass‐transport deposits (H and I) are present in the seismic record, both of which are associated with small lateral slope failures. Mass‐transport deposits H and I might be related to earthquakes in Lausanne/Geneva (possibly) 1322 ad and Aigle 1584 ad , respectively. The sedimentary record of the deep basin of Lake Geneva, in combination with the historical record, show that during the past 3695 years, at least six tsunamis were generated by mass movements, indicating that the tsunami hazard in the Lake Geneva region should not be neglected, although such events are not frequent with a recurrence time of 0·0016 yr^?1.     

Late Quaternary sequence stratigraphy of Lake Malawi (Nyasa), Africa

High resolution seismic data, multichannel seismic data and sediment cores were used to examine the Songwe Sequence, the uppermost of four depositional sequences identifiable on multichannel seismic data from Lake Malawi (Nyasa). The sequence has a maximum thickness of about 115 m in two areas of the lake, but is typically less than 70 m thick over most of the basin. The sequence is distributed along the entire length of the 560 km long lake, and is concentrated in three main depocentres. ¹⁴C age dates from sediment piston cores are extrapolated to provide an age estimate of about 78 000 yr bp for the oldest sediments within the Songwe Sequence. In the North and Central bathymetric basins of the lake, high resolution seismic data indicate a dynamic depositional environment, dominated by turbidity and mass flow deposits. Seismic data from the southern basin show acoustically transparent sediments with relatively low amplitude internal reflections, indicative of pelagic and hemipelagic sedimentation. In many areas the Songwe Sequence is underlain by a pronounced angular unconformity, suggestive of a significant, prolonged, low lake stage prior to deposition of the sequence. Seismic reflectors within the Songwe Sequence can be correlated to younger low lake stages identified from sediment core data. Major late Quaternary low lake level stages in Lake Malawi, interpreted from features identified in the seismic data and sediment core analyses, are tentatively interpreted at 6000 to 10 000 yr bp , 28 000 to >40 000 yr bp , and prior to 78 000 yr bp . Budget calculations indicate mean sediment concentrations from catchment runoff during the period of deposition of the Songwe Sequence to be about 190 mg 1⁻¹, comparable to estimates of modern rainy season discharges from the major river systems. Erosion rates within the drainage basin are estimated to be higher than the African average by a factor of three or more, probably due to the high relief within the Lake Malawi catchment.     

Turbidite stratigraphy in proglacial lakes: Deciphering trigger mechanisms using a statistical approach

Turbidites embedded in lacustrine sediment sequences are commonly used to reconstruct regional flood or earthquake histories. A critical step for this method to be successful is that turbidites and their trigger mechanisms are determined unambiguously. The latter is particularly challenging for prehistoric proglacial lake records in high-seismicity settings where both earthquake-generated and flood-generated turbidites interrupt the background varved sedimentation. This calls for a new method to allow efficient and objective identification and classification of turbidites. This study examined turbidites in five long (9 to 17 m) sediment cores from Eklutna Lake, a proglacial lake in south-central Alaska, using standard core logging and grain-size data. A novel statistical approach is presented, in which varve-thickness distributions were first analyzed to objectively identify the thickest turbidites and distinguish them from background sedimentation. For each turbidite, a selection of variables were then measured, including: basal grain-size, thickness, magnetic susceptibility and spectrophotometric variables. Triggering mechanisms were discriminated by a combination of principal component analysis and clustering, and by calibration with historical events. Using this approach, a 2250 year long lake-wide event stratigraphy was constructed, with 94 prehistoric events, including 24 earthquake and 70 flood events. Basal grain-size and thickness variables turn out to be the most effective proxies for discrimination. This statistical approach is a powerful and new method to identify turbidites and their triggering mechanisms in long prehistoric sediment records. It opens up new prospects for palaeoseismological, palaeohydrological and palaeoclimate studies in proglacial lakes worldwide.     

Rapid change in early Holocene environments inferred from Lake Pupuke,Auckland City,New Zealand

Sediment cores from Lake Pupuke in Auckland City, New Zealand, contain a high‐resolution millennial to centennial‐scale record of changing climate and catchment hydrology spanning the past ca. 10 000 years. Here, we focus on the period between 9500 ± 25 and 7000 ± 155 cal. yr BP during which grain size, diatom palaeoecology, biogenic silica concentrations, sediment elemental and carbon isotope geochemistry reflect changes in sediment sources and lake conditions, with a significant event commencing at ca. 8240 cal. yr BP, commensurate with a lowering of lake level, faster erosion rates and increased sediment influx with a duration of ca. 360 yrs. However, the changes in the lake are not reflected in the terrestrial vegetation, where the pollen record indicates that podocarp forest dominated the Auckland region, with apparent environmental stability during this part of the early Holocene. The synchronous change in most of the proxies between ca. 8240 and 7880 cal. yr BP at Lake Pupuke indicates the presence of a sustained episode of relatively low lake level and concomitant increased rate of erosion in the early Holocene that appears to be at least partly coeval with the 8200 cal. yr BP meltwater event proposed for the North Atlantic region. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Multidirectional,synchronously‐triggered seismo‐turbidites and debrites revealed by X‐ray computed tomography (CT)

On 21 April 2007, a M_w 6·2 earthquake struck Aysén fjord (Chilean Patagonia) and caused onshore and offshore mass movements which triggered tsunamis and density flows in the fjord. To better understand the facies successions in, and the intercalation of, the density‐flow deposits, a study was made of the 2007 deposits in 22 short sediment cores taken in the inner Aysén fjord. By combining grain‐size analysis with X‐ray computed tomography scanning, it was possible to demonstrate that the encountered facies correspond to classical divisions of debrites and turbidites. The single‐event deposits consist of a succession of several sub‐deposits deposited under different flow directions and can be interpreted as stacked turbidites. Orientations of: (i) folds; (ii) imbricated mud clasts; (iii) backsets and foresets of climbing ripples; and (iv) asymmetrical convolute lamination were used to determine relative flow directions at the location of the cores. By assigning the basal flow of the stacked debrites and turbidites to the closest principal mass flow, the absolute flow directions of the sub‐deposits were determined which, in combination with multibeam basin‐floor morphology, allowed reconstruction of the 2007 density‐flow successions in Aysén fjord. Furthermore, alternating flow directions provide evidence for a seiche induced by the density flows. It was concluded that X‐ray computed tomography scans provide crucial information for reconstructing palaeoflows and can be a useful tool in marine and lacustrine sedimentology and palaeoseismology. The multidirectionality of sub‐deposits in turbidites is, next to differences in mineralogy, a new criterion to identify stacked turbidites. These multidirectional, stacked turbidites are an indication of simultaneous triggering of density flows and can therefore, in most cases, be attributed to earthquakes, ruling out other triggers, such as floods, storms or other sediment failures.     

Anthropogenic influences on hydrocarbon contents of sediments deposited in eastern Lake Ontario since 1800

 The amounts and types of extractable hydrocarbon components in sediment cores from the Rochester Basin of eastern Lake Ontario provide a record of environmental changes that have accompanied the settlement and population growth of the surrounding land areas. Sediments deposited prior to the mid-1800s contain low concentrations of hydrocarbons that are dominated by land-plant wax components. Concentrations begin to rise in the late 1800s as erosion of soil and nutrients from watershed areas accelerated. This pattern continues into modern times. Episodes of enhanced aquatic productivity are sometimes recorded in twentieth-century sediments by the dominance of algal hydrocarbons, but land-plant components typically predominate. Petroleum residues begin to appear in sediments deposited in the late 1800's but remain minor constituents of the hydrocarbon contents of modern sediments in the Rochester Basin. Received: 21 March 1995 · Accepted: 11 August 1995     

Morphology and Quaternary sedimentation of the Mozambique Fan and environs,southwestern Indian Oceans*

Most of the Quaternary sediments of the Mozambique Fan have been derived from Africa-Madagascar and deposited by turbidity currents in Pleistocene time. Currents caused by movement of the Antarctic Bottom Water also played a significant role in reworking and redepositing sediments along the marginal areas of the fan. The inner or upper Mozambique Fan is characterized by a single, leveed valley. Due to the effects of the Coriolis force, the natural levees to the east of the valley (left, looking downstream) are higher and contain more terrigenous sediments than those to the west of the valley. The sea floor to the west of the valley returns regular hyperbolic echoes as seen on 3·5 kHz echograms, whereas to the east of the valley, the sea floor is relatively smooth. The sediments on the valley floor are coarse-grained (with median grain up to 2 mm) and poorly sorted, and occur often as massive turbidites, interbedded with hemipelagic sediments. Away from the valley, both to the east and the west, the terrigenous sediments are relatively fine-grained and have been deposited as overbank turbidite sequences. We estimate the maximum velocities of the channelized turbidity currents in the upper fan to have been 8–32 ms^?1. The middle fan has several distributary channels with no levees and has a relatively flat sea floor, characterized by lack of acoustic penetration. Thick, sheet-like, turbidite sand beds, deposited primarily by unchannelized turbidity currents, characterize the middle fan. The middle fan grades, towards the margins, into the outer (lower) fan which is relatively free of channels, has good acoustic penetration and contains hemipelagic and pelagic sediments, and thin, fine-sand turbidite and/or contourite beds. A wide zone of sediment waves, formed from the reworking of the turbidity current-fed sediments by the Antarctic Bottom Water, forms part of the outer fan.     

Identifying water-quality trends in the Trinity River,Texas, USA, 1969–1992, using sediment cores from Lake Livingston

 Chemical analyses were done on cores of bottom sediment from three locations in Lake Livingston, a reservoir on the Trinity River in east Texas to identify trends in water quality in the Trinity River using the chemical record preserved in bottom sediments trapped by the reservoir. Sediment cores spanned the period from 1969, when the reservoir was impounded, to 1992, when the cores were collected. Chemical concentrations in reservoir sediment samples were compared to concentrations for 14 streambed sediment samples from the Trinity River Basin and to reported concentrations for soils in the eastern United States and shale. These comparisons indicate that sediments deposited in Lake Livingston are representative of the environmental setting of Lake Livingston within the Trinity River Basin. Vertical changes in concentrations within sediment cores indicate temporal trends of decreasing concentrations of lead, sodium, barium, and total DDT (DDT plus its metabolites DDD and DDE) in the Trinity River. Possible increasing temporal trends are indicated for chlordane and dieldrin. Each sediment-derived trend is related to trends in water quality in the Trinity River or known changes in environmental factors in its drainage basin or both. Received: 6 October 1995 · Accepted: 13 October 1995