Sub-sampling unconsolidated sediments: A solution for the preparation of undistrubed thin-sections from clay‐rich sediments

Using the principles of electroosmosis, a subsampling technique for clay-rich sediments is introduced that produces undisturbed thinsections from sediment cores. The fragile sample remains in the same disposable box throughout the process, preventing collapse of its structure during subsampling, manipulation and impregnation, as well as other potential problems.     

Organo-geochemical and stable isotope indicators ofenvironmental change in a marl lake, Malham Tarn, North Yorkshire,U.K.

Sediments of the marl lake Malham Tarn located in NW Englandpreserve an environmental record since 12 Ka. Eight Holocene pollen zones wereidentified, and the ¹³C of total organic carbon (TOC) showsthree stratigraphic divisions. The basal clay unit and overlayingsand/clay/marl unit have ¹³C of –24which decreases at the base of the principal marl unit to a mean value around–30, whilst the topmost black marl unit ¹³Cincreases to –28 at the surface. Representative samples of theseunits were selected for analysis of n-alkanes andn-fatty acids and their ¹³C.Samples of modern Chara and peat were analysed forcomparison. The clay unit has a minor contribution of redeposited matureorganic matter and autochthonous algae, the marl unit a high contribution ofChara, and the dark marl unit has a high contribution fromhigher plants. Compound-specific ¹³C revealssystematic differences between alkanes and fatty acids of different chainlength. The major shift in ¹³C in the short and medium chainfatty acids are probably due to the decreasing influence of carbonate rockflour as source of DIC. The major shift in ¹³C in the longchain n-fatty acids andn-alkanes could reflect the lower atmosphericCO₂ concentration at Last Glacial. The negative shift of short chainfatty acids in organic rich dark marls reflects introduction of detrital peatinto the lake. The ¹³C results show a dramatic change fromdominance of autochthonous plus eroded sources up to Pollen Zone IV, then slowcolonisation of the hinterland by higher plants, followed by constantChara contributions throughout the deposition of the marl,and a further increase of higher plant material after the rise in water levelin 1791.     

Oxygen isotope ratios of organic matter in arctic lakes as a paleoclimate proxy: field and laboratory investigations

Paleoclimate research based on the stable isotopic composition of lake sediments is often hampered by the lack of preservation of suitable material for isotopic analysis. We examined organic material as a proxy for past water isotopic composition in a series of experiments. First, we cultured aquatic moss under constant illumination, temperature, and water ¹⁸O, and show that new cellulose records source water ¹⁸O precisely (r² = 0.9997). Second, we analyzed paired lakewater and vegetation samples collected from sites spanning strong climatic gradients. In field conditions, the relationship between organic ¹⁸O and water ¹⁸O is more variable, though it is still controlled by environmental water isotopic composition. However, terrestrial mosses in the arctic are often significantly enriched in ¹⁸O relative to aquatic mosses in nearby lakes due to their use of different water sources. Third, we measured ¹⁸O of cellulose extracted from disseminated sedimentary organic material. In the majority of the middle- to high-arctic lakes in this study, the ¹⁸O of disseminated sediment cellulose is greatly enriched relative to the expected values based on lakewater ¹⁸O, suggesting a significant component of terrestrial cellulose. This interpretation is supported by radiocarbon dates from a Holocene sediment core in which ¹⁴C ages of sediment cellulose are 700-5000 yrs older than the enclosing sediments. We conclude that aquatic cellulose can be used as a reliable tracer of lakewater isotope ratios, but terrestrial cellulose often dominates the sedimentary cellulose pool in places such as Baffin Island where sedimentation rates are low enough to allow the degradation of aquatic cellulose. Care must be taken when interpreting sediment cellulose ¹⁸O records where diagenesis has played a role, because terrestrial cellulose is more resistant to degradation, and therefore can predominate in environments with low organic carbon burial.     

Phototrophic activity and redox condition in Lake Hamana, Japan, indicated by sedimentary photosynthetic pigments and molybdenum over the last ∼250 years

We analyzed photosynthetic pigments, total organic carbon (TOC), biogenic silica, and Mo, a redox-sensitive element, in ²¹⁰Pb-dated sediment cores to reconstruct the historical changes in primary productivity and anoxia in the central basin of Lake Hamana, a brackish lake in Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan, over the last 250 years. The algal photosynthetic pigments we analyzed included chlorophyll a (and its derivatives), chlorophyll b (and its derivatives), and carotenoids such as -carotene, lutein, zeaxanthin, diatoxanthin, fucoxanthin, alloxanthin, and -carotene. Marker pigments for phototrophic sulfur bacteria were also recorded, including okenone and bacteriopheophytin a, originating from Chromatium (a genus of purple sulfur bacteria), and isorenieratene and bacteriochlorophylls e ₁, e ₂ and e ₃ (and corresponding bacteriopheophytins) from brown Chlorobium (a brown-colored group of green sulfur bacteria). The occurrence of these pigments throughout the length of all cores indicates that the anoxia in Lake Hamana has existed over at least the last 250 years. The indicators related to primary productivity – TOC and pigments of aerobic and anaerobic phototrophs – and an indicator of anoxia, Mo, increased after 1860, indicating that productivity had increased in both the oxic and anoxic (sulfidic) zones. The depth profiles of the indicators in the sediment cores showed that among phototrophic sulfur bacteria, Chromatium preferentially increased relative to brown Chlorobium when the lake productivity was high, and hence high anoxia existed in the lake. This can be explained by a shallowing of the oxic/anoxic boundary zone due to changes in temporal and/or spatial extents of seasonal anoxia, which made the light intensity in the upper anoxic zone high enough for Chromatium to grow. The upper Chromatium layer may absorb the wavelengths of light that favor the growth of brown Chlorobium in the water column, resulting in a relative decrease in brown Chlorobium. During the 1950s, the trends among the indicators changed significantly. This change is attributed to the construction of training walls, built to direct tidal currents into the lake, on the Imagire-guchi Channel, the sole inlet of seawater to the lake, during 1954–1956, and the resultant increases of seawater intrusion and lake salinity. A decrease in okenone and bacteriopheophytin a, or in okenone/isorenieratene ratio, after 1960 accompanying a decrease in Mo, is attributed to a deepening of the anoxic zone, where the light intensity became too low for growth of Chromatium, more light-demanding than the brown Chlorobium. A decrease of zeaxanthin (cyanobacteria) after 1960 relative to lutein (green algae) and diatoxanthin (diatoms and dinoflagellates) indicated a change in algal assemblage, presumably due to the increased salinity. Principal component analysis with a data set of total algal carotenoids, okenone, isorenieratene, and Mo also suggested that a major change occurred around the 1950s.     

Hubbert’s petroleum production model: an evaluation and implications for World Oil Production Forecasts

Following Hubberts successful prediction of the timing of US peak oil production, Hubberts model has been used extensively to predict peak oil production elsewhere. However, forecasts of world and regional peak oil and natural gas production using Hubberts methodology usually have failed, leading to the implicit belief that such predictions always will fail and that we need not worry about finite resources. A careful examination of Hubberts approach indicates that the most important reasons for his success in the US were stable markets, the high growth rate of demand, ready availability of low cost imports, and a reasonable estimate of easily extractable reserves. This analysis also shows that his model cannot predict ultimate oil reserves and that it should be considered an econometric model. Building on Hubberts vital insight, that cheap fossil fuel reserves are knowable and finite, one can state that for world peak oil production, political constraints should be much more important than resource constraints.     

Diatoms and sockeye salmon (Oncorhynchus nerka) population dynamics: Reconstructions of salmon-derived nutrients over the past 2,200 years in two lakes from Kodiak Island, Alaska

The return of hundreds to millions of adult sockeye salmon (Oncorhynchus nerka), which have returned from the ocean to their natal nursery lake environment to spawn, can result in significant nutrient loading. By analyzing sedimentary diatom assemblages from nursery lakes, we demonstrated that a salmon-derived nutrient signal could be traced over time and be used to infer past sockeye salmon population dynamics. We conducted a 2,200 year paleolimnological study of two Alaskan sockeye salmon nursery lakes, Karluk and Frazer lakes. The two lakes are very similar, except that sockeye salmon were only introduced into Frazer Lake in 1951 (first spawners returned in 1956). In both lakes we found a strong correspondence between diatom assemblages and the number of adult salmon spawners recorded in the historical data (40 and 70 years for Frazer and Karluk lakes, respectively). Given this robust relationship, we then used our analyses of diatoms from Karluk Lake over the past 2,200 years to gain insight into salmon-derived nutrient loading changes (which are directly related to the number of sockeye salmon spawners). The diatom record from Karluk Lake recorded dramatic species changes on both decadal and century timescales, and was strongly correlated with an independent indicator of sockeye salmon abundances, ¹⁵N. Together, these data suggest pronounced variability in sockeye salmon abundances at Karluk Lake over the past 2,200 years. The direct impacts of regional environmental variability were not likely responsible for the patterns apparent in Karluk Lake, as the diatom and ¹⁵N profiles from Frazer Lake were relatively stable prior to the introduction of sockeye salmon. Application of total phosphorus transfer functions to the Karluk and Frazer lakes' diatom records revealed that sockeye salmon carcasses substantially increased the trophic status in these lakes, which has important implications for the health of juvenile salmon that rear in nursery lakes. Overall, this paper illustrates the potential use of diatoms in reconstructing past sockeye salmon population dynamics, which in turn can lead to a greater understanding of the mechanisms influencing abundances of sockeye salmon.     

Lacustrine organic matter and the Holocene paleoenvironmental record of Lake Albano (central Italy)

A combined bulk and detailed geochemical study of the sedimentary organic matter in Lake Albano, central Italy, provides critical data to track the response of this aquatic system to the environmental changes of variable amplitude that occurred during the Holocene. RockEval pyrolysis of this predominantly laminated, organic carbonrich sedimentary sequence shows changes in hydrogen and oxygen indices that are related to variations in the dominance of the primary producers. These variations are further confirmed by the pigments and the carbon isotopic composition of bulk organic matter showing that cyanobacteria dominated the lake waters during the early and late Holocene whereas diatoms have been the main producers during the middle Holocene. Sharp decreases in productivity, 2–3 centuries long, are identified at ca. 8.2, 6.4 and 3.8 ka. B.P. Changes in temperature and/or effective moisture are suggested as the most probable causes, although human impact cannot be ruled out for the latest part of the Holocene.     

Mid and late holocene diatoms from ‘Water Supply Lake’, Baffin Island,N.W.T., Canada

Diatom analyses from a 40 cm sediment core from Water Supply Lake, northeastern Baffin Island, reveal 67 taxa of primarily benthic forms, strongly dominated by small Fragilaria spp. No major stratigraphic changes are noted in the diatom floral record, which encompasses the last 7000 years. In the uppermost 2 cm, there are increases in: a) F. virescens var. subsalina, b) the ratio of symmetric: asymmetric valves of F. construens, and c) species richness. These are interpreted as reflecting anthropogenic modifications of the lake (chlorination and deepening) associated with its use as a source of water for the community of Pond Inlet since 1979.     

Chironomids as indicators of climate change: a 100‐lake training set from a subarctic region of northern Sweden (Lapland)

Multivariate numerical analyses (DCA, CCA) were used to study the distribution of chironomids from surface sediments of 100 lakes spanning broad ecoclimatic conditions in northern Swedish Lapland. The study sites range from boreal forest to alpine tundra and are located in a region of relatively low human impact. Of the 19 environmental variables measured, ordination by CCA identified mean July air temperature as one of the most significant variables explaining the distribution and the abundance of chironomids. Lossonignition (LOI), maximum lake depth and mean January air temperature also accounted for significant variation in chironomid assemblages. A quantitative transfer function was created to estimate mean July air temperature from sedimentary chironomid assemblages using weightedaveraging partial least squares regression (WAPLS). The coefficient of determination was relatively high (r² = 0.65) with root mean squared error of prediction (RMSEP, based on jack-knifing) of 1.13 °C and maximum bias of 2.1 °C, indicating that chironomids can provide useful quantitative estimates of past changes in mean July air temperature. The paper focuses mainly on the relationship between chironomid composition and July air temperature, but the relationship to LOI and depth are also discussed.     

On the red coloration of saltern crystallizer ponds

To assess, respectively, the contribution of red bacteria of theHalobacterium-Haloferax-Haloarcula group and of the β-carotene-rich green algaDunaliella salina to the red colour of saltern crystallizer ponds, we studied the optical properties of the brines of NaCl-saturated saltern ponds in Eilat, Israel, and quantified the pigments present in their biota. The absorption spectrum of the brines, as measured using the opal glass method to reduce the interference by scattering, or using an integrating sphere, nearly corresponded to thein vivo absorption spectrum of bacterioruberin-containing red archaeobacteria. However, extracts of the microbial community in organic solvents were dominated by β-carotene, a pigment occurring in high concentrations in theDunaliella cells present, and bacterioruberin contributed only between 13 and 28 per cent of the total visible light absorption by the extracts. The apparent discrepancy between these results can be explained by the very small in vivo optical cross-section of β-carotene, which is densely packed in globules inside theD. salina cells.     

Stable isotopic compositions of sulfur in PIRLA sediment cores

Stable isotopic compositions of total sedimentary sulfur were determined for cores from eight of the PIRLA study lakes. Preindustrial sulfur deposited prior to 1800 had roughly constant isotopic compositions within a 1–2 range in each core. In more recent sediments, large 5–10 decreases in ³⁴S content occurred and likely resulted from the addition of anthropogenic sulfur. These isotopic changes began at the same time that lead concentrations increased in sediments, suggesting a close linkage between lead and sulfur deposition in the mid and late 1800s.This is the ninth 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.     

Setting minimum head capsule abundance and taxa deletion criteria in chironomid-based inference models

Criteria for removing training set lakes and taxa in chironomidbased inference models, due to low abundances, have largely been ad hoc. We used an anoxia inference model and a hypolimnetic oxygen model from southcentral Ontario to determine what effect subfossil head capsule abundance and taxa deletion criteria have on fossil inference statistics. Results from six training set lakes suggest that a minimum abundance of 40–50 head capsules is sufficient for use in inference models, however more diverse samples likely require more than 50 head capsules. Taxa deletion criteria substantially improved the predictive ability of inference models (lowered the root mean squared error of prediction (RMSEP)). The common practice of including taxa with only 2% abundance in at least two lakes was one of the deletion criteria that much improved inference models. Similar deletion criteria, such as 2% in at least 3 lakes and 3% in at least 1 lake, produced comparable improvements (up to 18% reduction in RMSEP).     

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.     

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.     

Anthropogenic changes in the sediment composition of Lake Gości& aogon;ż (central Poland), during the last 330 yrs*

According to historical sources, the development of settlement around Lake Goci& aogon; during the last 330 yrs was intense at two time periods: the second half of the 1700's, and from ca. 1880 until 1944. The small farms were then abandoned, following which the lake surroundings were planted with forest trees. The presented study of human influence on the lake ecosystem and surrounding vegetation has been based on analyses of general sediment composition and its chemistry, pollen, Cyanobacteria, Chlorophyceae, Rotatoria, Cladocera, and a preliminary diatom survey. The history of human impact has been divided into four phases: 1. Phase of small local hamlets (before ca. 1770): The human impact was rather moderate then, but the cultivation of Canabis sativa, Secale cereale and later of Fagopyrum is evidenced from that time. 2. Phase of Hollandii settlement (ca. 1770-1863). Its influence is indicated first by the recession of deciduous wood (Corylus, Carpinus) stands, which triggered drastic drop of calcium in sediments. The development of rural economy in the area, including, an extension of agriculture (Secale and other cereals, crucifers, potatoes), and animal breeding based partly on grazing in the forest, is evidenced only after 1820. 3. Phase of German colonization (1863-1944): In the early periods (before 1910) the pollen spectra do not document any essential change in the type of farming, however, a serious disturbance of the lake ecosystem and sediment chemistry is evidenced by the blooms of Araphidinae diatoms and Tetraedron minimum, a maximum frequency of Bosmina longirostris, disturbances of the regular spring blooms of Chrysophyceae, appearance of vivianite, distinct maxima of organic matter, potassium, and iron concentration in sediments and an increase of the sedimentation rate. An intensification of agricultural activities commenced around 1910; woods, including also pinewoods, were then heavily devastated, and farming extended on poor soils, what was symptomatic for the general poverty of population. Coincidently in the lake, Centriceae showed blooms, Araphidinae diatoms and Tetraedron minimum developed, and the content of potassium, iron and phosphorus increased substantially, indicating altogether rising eutrophication. 4. Phase of restoration of the natural landscape (after 1945): The farm degradation from ca. 1944 is very weakly expressed in pollen data, which show a substantial fall of farming indicators from 1953/6 only, when the whole area was used for forest plantation. It was accompanied by a certainly spontaneous development of Betula and Alnus woods, this process progressing till recent time. The gradual extinction of farming activity near Lake Goci was accompanied by abrupt changes in the lake ecosystem, expressed by the restored blooms of Chrysophyceae expansion of planktonic Cladocera, rapid decline of phosphorus and extinction of vivianite from sediments. As documented by the drop of Cu/Zn ratio, lake hypolimnion has been weakly oxidized since 1949, what was probably responsible for the drop of Fe and Mn content in sediments. Increasing strength of overturns affected preservation of laminae in sediments, which almost completely disappeared after 1966.     

Multi-proxy data from Kaksoislammi Lake in Finland: dramatic changes in the late Holocene cladoceran assemblages

A small lake, Kaksoislammi (60° 3830N, 24° 4550E), in southern Finland was studied for Cladocera, diatoms and pollen from a core which covers the entire Holocene. The diatom remains indicate a steady development from alkaliphilous taxa towards the dominance of acidophilous forms and lowering pH in the late Holocene. About 1800–1700 BP, dramatic changes took place in the microfauna, mainly the planktonic Cladocera. Bosmina longirostris, the dominant species, suddenly disappeared, and Daphnia, Chydorus sphaericus and Chaoborus increased. The change is simultaneous with a decline of the diatom-inferred pH to 4.8. It is probable that there was a sudden, profound change in predator-prey relationships. The acidity of the lake water probably increased to such a low level that it led to the disappearance of even the most acid-tolerant fish. Consequently invertebrate predators increased and quickly altered the species composition in the lake. There is also pollen evidence of the onset of Iron Age cultivation and grazing almost simultaneously with the faunal change. Therefore, it cannot be ruled out that the sudden lowering of pH was indirectly caused by prehistoric human activity; possibly the acidic peatland surrounding the lake was disturbed.     

Paleolimnological investigations of anthropogenic environmental change in Lake Tanganyika: I. An introduction to the project

We investigated paleolimnological records from a series of river deltas around the northeastern rim of Lake Tanganyika, East Africa (Tanzania and Burundi) in order to understand the history of anthropogenic activity in the lakes catchment over the last several centuries, and to determine the impact of these activities on the biodiversity of littoral and sublittoral lake communities. Sediment pollution caused by increased rates of soil erosion in deforested watersheds has caused significant changes in aquatic communities along much of the lakes shoreline. We analyzed the effects of sediment discharge on biodiversity around six deltas or delta complexes on the east coast of Lake Tanganyika: the Lubulungu River delta, Kabesi River delta, Nyasanga/Kahama River deltas, and Mwamgongo River delta in Tanzania; and the Nyamuseni River delta and Karonge/Kirasa River deltas in Burundi. Collectively, these deltas and their associated rivers were chosen to represent a spectrum of drainage-basin sizes and disturbance levels. By comparing deltas that are similar in watershed attributes (other than disturbance levels), our goal was to explore a series of historical experiments at the watershed scale, with which we could more clearly evaluate hypotheses of land use or other effects on nearshore ecosystems. Here we discuss these deltas, their geologic and physiographic characteristics, and the field procedures used for coring and sampling the deltas, and various indicators of anthropogenic impact.     

Morphological variation of Stephanodiscus niagarae Ehrenb. (Bacillariophyta) in a Lake Ontario sediment core

Stephanodiscus niagarae populations in a core from Lake Ontario show systematic variation in radial puncta number and mean valve diameter. Puncta number is stable in specimens from samples deposited between 1720 and 1844. Puncta number gradually increases in samples deposited between 1860 and 1947, then increases rapidly to high numbers in samples deposited after 1964. Mean valve diameter is relatively high in specimens from samples deposited between 1720 and 1959. Diameter of specimens deposited during this period fluctuates around a mean of 63.2 m. Mean diameter of specimens deposited from 1959 to 1980 is only 42.5 m. We conclude that the trend in puncta number reflects the time course of eutrophication in Lake Ontario. We interpret the precipitous decline in mean diameter as an indication that conditions in the lake after the late 1950's did not permit sexual reproduction in this species.     

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).     

Stable carbon isotope ratios in lake and swamp sediments as a proxy for prehistoric forest clearance and crop cultivation in the Neotropics

Close correspondence between stable carbon isotope ratios ( ¹³ C), pollen, and charcoal profiles in sediment cores from Laguna Zoncho and Machita swamp, Costa Rica, shows that prehistoric forest clearance and crop cultivation can be detected in the stable carbon isotope ratios of total organic carbon ( ¹3C _TOC ). Analyses of δ 13C _TOC complement evidence from pollen, charcoal, and phytoliths and provide a proxy that is sensitive to the intensity and/or proximity to core sites of prehistoric forest clearance and agriculture in watersheds. Stable carbon isotope analyses are particularly useful in situations in which other evidence of forest clearance and agriculture is limited.