The Lake Lahontan highstand: age, surficial characteristics, soil development, and regional shoreline correlation

The Lake Lahontan basin has been the site of numerous pluvial lakes during the Pleistocene. We address the question of whether or not the highest remnant shoreline features around the perimeter of the lake were produced during the most recent Sehoo highstand (13 ka), the penultimate Eetza highstand (140–280 ka), or both. To do so, we document surficial characteristics, morphologic preservation, and soil development on multiple Sehoo beach barriers in the Jessup embayment to define the range in characteristics displayed by latest Pleistocene beach features. Sehoo barriers generally exhibit original constructional morphology that has been little modified by erosion. Soils developed on Sehoo barriers are generally thin and weakly developed and are strongly influenced by the introduction of eolian fines into the predominately clast-supported coarse beach gravels. Similar observations from 13 other highstand barriers and from seven older-than-latest Pleistocene paleosols located around the basin form the basis for a regional comparison. Based on similar characteristics, including the degree of morphologic preservation and weak soil development, we conclude that the widespread and nearly continuous high shoreline around the perimeter of Lake Lahontan dates from the most recent major lake cycle in all areas except in the Walker Lake subbasin. In the Walker Lake subbasin, isolated early to middle Pleistocene lacustrine outcrops and landforms are elevated as much as 70 m above the late Pleistocene limit, but are differentiated by their degraded form and lack of continuity around the subbasin. Similar unambiguous landforms were not observed elsewhere and at similar elevations in the northern subbasins of Lake Lahontan.     

Late Quaternary paleolimnology of Walker Lake,Nevada

Diatoms, crustaceans, and pollen from sediment cores, in conjunction with dated shoreline tufas provide evidence for lake level and environmental fluctuations of Walker Lake in the late Quaternary. Large and rapid changes of lake chemistry and level apparently resulted from variations in the course and discharge of the Walker River. Paleolimnological evidence suggests that the basin contained a relatively deep and slightly saline to freshwater lake before ca. 30 000 years B.P. During the subsequent drawdown, the Walker River apparently shifted its course and flowed northward into the Carson Sink. As a result, Walker Lake shallowed and became saline. During the full glacial, cooler climates with more effective moisture supported a shallow brine lake in the basin even without the Walker River. As glacial climates waned after 15 000 years ago, Walker Lake became a playa. The Walker River returned to its basin 4700 years ago, filling it with fresh water in a few decades. Thereafter, salinity and depth increased as evaporation concentrated inflowing water, until by 3000 years ago Walker Lake was nearly 90 m deep, according to dated shoreline tufas. Lake levels fluctuated throughout this interval in response to variations in Sierra Nevada precipitation and local evaporation. A drought in the Sierras between 2400 and 2000 years ago reduced Walker Lake to a shallow, brine lake. Climate-controlled refilling of the lake beginning 2000 years ago required about one millennium to bring Walker lake near its historic level.Through time, lake basins in the complex Lake Lahontan system, fill and desiccate in response to climatic, tectonic and geomorphic events. Detailed, multidisciplinary paleolimnologic records from related subbasins are required to separate these processes before lake level history can be reliably used to interpret paleoclimatology.This is the fifth of a series of papers to be published by this journal that was presented in the paleolimnology sessions organized by R. B. Davis and H. Löffler for the XIIth Congress of the International Union for Quaternary Research (INQUA), which took place in Ottawa, Canada in August 1987. Drs. Davis and Löffler are serving as guest editors of this series.     

Holocene lake-level fluctuations and beach-ridge development along the northern shore of Lake Michigan, USA

Geomorphology of a beach-ridge complex and adjacent lake basins along the northern shore of Lake Michigan records fluctuations in the level of Lake Michigan for the last 8000 to 10 000 ¹⁴C yr B.P. (radiocarbon years Before Present). A storm berm at 204.7–206 m (671.6–675.9 ft) exposed in a sandpit provides evidence of a pre-Chippewa Low lake level that is correlated with dropping water levels of Glacial Lake Algonquin (c. 10 300–10 100 ¹⁴C yr B.P.). Radiocarbon dates from organic material exposed in a river cutbank and basal sediments from Elbow Lake, Mackinac Co., Michigan, indicate a maximum age of a highstand of Lake Michigan at 6900 ¹⁴C yr B.P., which reached as high as 196.7 m (645 ft), during the early-Nipissing transgression of Lake Michigan. Basal radiocarbon dates from beach swales and a second lake site (Beaverhouse Lake, Mackinac Co.) provide geomorphic evidence for a subsequent highstand which reached 192.6 m (632 ft) at 5390±70 ¹⁴C yr B.P.Basal radiocarbon dates from a transect of sediment cores, along with tree-ring data, and General Land Office Surveyor notes of a shipwreck, c. A.D. 1846, reveal a late-Holocene rate for isostatic rebound of 22.6 cm/100 radiocarbon years (0.74 ft/100 radiocarbon years) for the northern shore of Lake Michigan, relative to the Lake Michigan-Lake Huron outlet at Port Huron, Michigan. Changes in sediment stratigraphy, inter-ridge distance, and sediment accumulation rates document a mid- to late-Holocene retreat of the shoreline due to isostatic rebound. This regression sequence was punctuated by brief, periodic highstands, resulting in progressive development over the past 5400 ¹⁴C yr of 75 pairs of dune ridges and swales each formed over an interval of approximately 72 years. Times of lake-level fluctuation were identified at 3900, 3200, and 1000 ¹⁴C yr B.P. based on changes in inter-ridge spacing, shifts in the course of Millecoquins River, and reorientation of beach-ridge lineation. Soil type, dune development, and selected pollen data provide supporting evidence for this chronology. Late-Holocene beach-ridge development and lake-level fluctuations are related to a retreat of the dominant Pacific airmass and the convergence of the Arctic and Tropical airmasses resulting in predominantly meridional rather than zonal air flow across the Great Lakes region.This is the 13th in a series of papers published in this special AMQUA issue. These papers were presented at the 1994 meeting of the American Quaternary Association held 19–22 June, 1994, at the University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA. Dr Linda C. K. Shane served as guest editor for these papers.     

Paleoshoreline evidence for postglacial tilting in Southern Manitoba

Detailed air photo interpretation and four seasons of field mapping and surveying in southern Manitoba have revealed that the once-level paleoshorelines of Lake Winnipegosis and Dauphin Lake and the Burnside shoreline of former Lake Agassiz have been tilted up to the northeast by postglacial differential rebound. Our investigation has also revealed that Lake Winnipegosis has the best preserved paleoshoreline record of any of the large lakes in southern Manitoba, including lakes Winnipeg and Manitoba. This is because northeasterly uptilting shifts the region's lakes to the southwest. Lakes with southern outlets, like Lake Winnipegosis, undergo general regression as the outlet is lowered relative to the rest of the basin. Lakes with northern outlets, like lakes Winnipeg and Manitoba, undergo general transgression as northeasterly uptilting raises the outlet relative to the rest of the basin. Along the northeastern shore of Lake Winnipegosis a staircase of at least 32 abandoned Winnipegosis shorelines exists that is consistent with northeasterly tilting. The Dawson level represents the major mid-Holocene highstand on Lake Winnipegosis. It persisted for about 500 years, peaking at 5290 ¹⁴C yr B.P. (early Dawson) and then falling about 3 m by 4740 ¹⁴C yr B.P. (late Dawson). The early Dawson shoreline is tilted at 13.5 cm km^-1 in a direction N24.3°E. Three other shorelines informally named shoreline 4, shoreline 3, and shoreline 2 are also tilted up to the northeast. Their radiocarbon ages (and slopes in cm km^-1) are 3330 yr B.P. (2.2), 1510 yr B.P. (1.3), and 1080 yr B.P. (0.7), respectively. On Dauphin Lake shoreline IV is the oldest level mapped for this study. It has a ¹⁴C age of 7910 yr B.P. and is tilted at 21.7 cm km^-1 in a direction N44.4°E. The Id shoreline marks the major mid-Holocene highstand for Dauphin Lake. It peaked at 4640 ¹⁴C yr B.P. followed by a rapid decline of about 1 m to the Ib shoreline, which is dated at 4320 ¹⁴C yr B.P. Id is tilted up at 8.8 cm km^-1 in a direction N53.4°E. The next major shoreline is Ia3 which has a ¹⁴C age of 3020 yr B.P. and is tilted up at 5.3 cm km^-1 in a direction N62.3°E. Tilt directions are significantly more easterly for the Dauphin Lake shorelines than those from Lake Winnipegosis or any of the much older Lake Agassiz shorelines. Taken together, the Winnipegosis and Dauphin isobases indicate that the direction of tilt in southern Manitoba is more complex than a simple uni-directional pattern. The observed pattern of tilting for paleoshorelines in southern Manitoba agrees better with predictions derived from the recently revised loading history model ICE-4G than with those from its predecessor ICE-3G. In general, the calculated tilt based on the ICE-3G load tends to exceed the observed tilt, while ICE-4G tends to underestimate it. Both ice load models appear to disagree most with our observed tilts in this region during the interval before about 9000 cal yr B.P., when deglaciation was proceeding rapidly and the large water load associated with Lake Agassiz covered the region. Because both of these ice load models have been estimated mainly from a global data set of relative sea level curves from marine coast sites, it is not unexpected that model tilts derived from them do not agree well with observations in the North American continental interior. The pattern of postglacial crustal deformation for southern Manitoba described in this paper could be used to further refine ice load models for the North American continental interior.     

Late Pleistocene and Holocene lake fluctuations in the Sevier Lake basin,Utah, USA

Sevier Lake is the modern lake in the topographically closed Sevier Lake basin, and is fed primarily by the Sevier River. During the last 12 000 years, the Beaver River also was a major tributary to the lake. Lake Bonneville occupied the Sevier Desert until late in its regressive phase when it dropped to the Old River Bed threshold, which is the low point on the drainage divide between the Sevier Lake basin and the Great Salt Lake basin. Lake Gunnison, a shallow freshwater lake at 1390 m in the Sevier Desert, overflowed continuously from about 12 000 to 10 000 yr B.P., into the saline lake in the Great Salt Lake basin, which continued to contract. This contrast in hydrologic histories between the two basins may have been caused by a northward shift of monsoon circulation into the Sevier Lake basin, but not as far north as the Great Salt Lake basin. Increased summer precipitation and cloudiness could have kept the Sevier Lake basin relatively wet.By shortly after 10 000 yr B.P. Lake Gunnison had stopped overflowing and the Sevier and Beaver Rivers had begun depositing fine-grained alluvium across the lake bed. Sevier Lake remained at an altitude below 1381 m during the early and middle Holocene. Between 3000 and 2000 yr B.P. the lake expanded slightly to an altitude of about 1382.3 m. A second expansion, probably in the last 500 years, culminated at about 1379.8 m. In the mid 1800s the lake had a surface altitude of 1379.5 m. Sevier Lake was essentially dry (1376 m) from 1880 until 1982. In 1984–1985 the lake expanded to a 20th-century high of 1378.9 m in response to abnormally high snow-melt runoff in the Sevier River. The late Holocene high stands of Sevier Lake were most likely related to increased precipitation derived from westerly air masses.This is the first of a series of papers to be published by this journal that was presented in the paleolimnology sessions organized by R. B. Davis and H. Löffler for the XIIth Congress of the International Union for Quaternary Research (INQUA), which took place in Ottawa, Canada in August 1987. Drs. Davis and Löffler are serving as guest editors of this series.     

Modeling the history of Lake of the Woods since 11,000 cal yr B.P. using GIS

Because of differential isostatic rebound, many lakes in Canada have continued to change their extent and depth since retreat of the Laurentide Ice Sheet. Using GIS techniques, the changing configuration and bathymetry of Lake of the Woods in Ontario, Manitoba, and Minnesota were reconstructed for 12 points in time, beginning at 11,000 cal yr B.P. (9.6 ¹⁴C ka B.P.), and were also projected 500 years into the future, based on the assumption that Lake of the Woods continued to have a positive hydrological budget throughout the Holocene. This modeling was done by first compiling a bathymetric database and merging that with subaerial data from the Shuttle Radar Topography Mission (SRTM). This DEM file was then adjusted by: (1) isobase data derived from Lake Agassiz beaches prior to 9000 cal yr B.P. (8.1 ¹⁴C ka B.P.) and (2) modeled isostatic rebound trend analysis after 9000 cal yr B.P. Just after the end of the Lake Agassiz phase of Lake of the Woods, only the northernmost part of the basin contained water. Differential rebound has resulted in increasing water depth. In the first 3000 years of independence from Lake Agassiz, the lake transgressed >50 km to the south, expanding its area from 858 to 2857 km², and more than doubling in volume. Continued differential rebound after 6000 cal yr B.P. (5.2 ¹⁴C ka B.P.) has further expanded the lake, although today it is deepening by only a few cm per century at the southern end. In addition, climate change in the Holocene probably played a role in lake level fluctuations. Based on our calculation of a modern hydrological budget for Lake of the Woods, reducing runoff and precipitation by 65% and increasing evaporation from the lake by 40% would end overflow and cause the level of the lake to fall below the outlets at Kenora. Because this climate change is comparable to that recorded during the mid-Holocene warming across the region, it is likely that the area covered by the lake at this time would have been less than that determined from differential isostatic rebound alone.     

Late quaternary paleoclimatic reconstructions for interior Alaska based on paleolake-level data and hydrologic models

Hydrologic models are developed for two lakes in interior Alaska to determine quantitative estimates of precipitation over the past 12,500 yrs. Lake levels were reconstructed from core transects for these basins, which probably formed prior to the late Wisconsin. Lake sediment cores indicate that these lakes were shallow prior to 12,500 yr B.P. and increased in level with some fluctuation until they reached their modern levels 4,000-8,000 yr B.P. Evaporation (E), evapotranspiration (ET), and precipitation (P) were adjusted in a water-balance model to determine solutions that would maintain the lakes at reconstructed levels at key times in the past (12,500, 9,000 and 6,000 yr B.P.). Similar paleoclimatic solutions can be obtained for both basins for these times. Results indicate that P was 35-75% less than modern at 12,500 yr B.P., 25-45% less than modern at 9,000 yr B.P. and 10-20% less than modern at 6,000 yr B.P. Estimates for E and ET in the past were based on modern studies of vegetation types indicated by fossil pollen assemblages. Although interior Alaska is predominantly forested at the present, pollen analyses indicate tundra vegetation prior to about 12,000 yr B.P. The lakes show differing sensitivities to changing hydrologic parameters; sensitivity depends on the ratio of lake area (AL) to drainage basin (DA) size. This ratio also changed over time as lake level and lake area increased. Smaller AL to DA ratios make a lake more sensitive to ET, if all other factors are constant.     

Late Quaternary Palaeoenvironment of Spring Lake,Alberta, Canada

Palaeoenvironmental investigations based upon sediment cores taken from Spring Lake in the Peace River District of Alberta, Canada (latitude 55° 31 N; longitude 119° 35 W) show that the sedimentary record spans the Holocene period. Chemical and diatom changes coincide with regional climatic change since deglaciation (about 11 000 yr. B.P.). Calcite laminations in the basal 3 metres of the cores are evident, and were probably formed through elevated water temperature although photosynthetic removal of CO₂ undoubtedly contributed. The disappearance of the laminations, and concurrent decrease in calcite X-ray diffraction peaks ca. 5000 yr. B.P. may have been caused by a change from a partially meromictic to a dimictic lake as the climate changed. Benthic and alkaline diatoms dominate before 5000 yr. B.P., while the planktonic Stephanodiscus hantzschii dominated between 5100 and 4200 yr. B.P. probably owing to increased nutrient levels. From ca. 4200 yr. B.P. until the present, benthic Fragilaria spp. and more circumneutral diatoms were dominant. Palaeoproduction, as measured by chlorophyll derivates, was highest in the early developmental stages of the lake, decreased coinciding with a major disturbance of the sediments and lowered water levels, and then gradually increased again until present. Only during the earlier period of peak production does biogenic calcite formation appear more important than calcite deposition caused by high water temperatures.     

甘肃平凉地区约80万年以来的植被与气候变迁*

将该地约80万年以来的植被发展和气候变化历史划分为14个大的阶段.其中距今约80-78万年、20-14万年、10-1万年三个阶段的植被主要为荒漠草原,气候干冷;距今约78-64、55-46、14-10万年三个阶段植被主要为落叶阔林,气候温暖湿润;其它阶段的植被和气候处于上述二者之间.全新世早、中期,本区气候较现代温湿,晚期趋于温凉半干旱.     

中昆仑山阿什库勒盆地地貌与第四纪环境问题

本文论述了阿什库勒盆地的地貌和沉积物的发育等问题。认为:(1)阿什库勒盆地的火山锥至少有11座,1号火山1951年不可能有岩浆喷发,火山泥石流体是不存在的;(2)黄土物质是全新世风积物,戈壁荒漠是其物源区;(3)阿什库勒湖与乌鲁克库勒湖均是火山堰塞湖,前者是18kaB.P.前熔岩流阻塞盆地东部出口而成;后者则是6.5kaB.P.新期火山喷发物拦截阿什库勒湖的部分水域所致。     

青海湖碳酸盐氧同位素环境记录再认识

青海湖是我国内陆最大的闭流型水体,地处东亚季风和西风的交汇影响区,对区域降水的改变等气候变化反应敏感,其水位变化历史是研究区域季风环境演变极其宝贵和重要的环境档案。青海湖Q14B孔岩芯介壳δ18Oc变化曲线自1991年发表以来,受到国内外同行的广泛关注和继续探讨。依据近年来青海湖气候与环境演变研究的最新研究结果和个人对闭流型湖泊同位素地球化学的认识,对介壳δ18Oc变化曲线进行了重新判读并得出以下结论:14.5~10.5 ka B.P.,青海湖区气候已逐渐从干冷向温湿过渡,季风降水逐渐增加;10.8~10.5 ka B.P.,青海湖处于碳酸盐滩湖环境,湖水深度从几米演变到接近干涸;10.5~9.5 kaB.P.,季风降水增加;9.5~8 ka B.P,湖水位从此前的接近干涸演变到此间的2~8 m,δ18Oc值跌落到一个较低的位置;8~3.5ka B.P,气候条件相对稳定,湖水不断蒸发引起重同位素的富集;3.5~0ka B.P,湖水处于同位素稳定阶段。研究结果还显示,δ18Oc值的短期波动与湖泊水位短期变化关系密切且明显,即水位高低分别对应δ18Oc的低值与高值。δ18Oc值的长期变化与湖泊水位长期变化关系不明显,水位较浅时,二者几乎无关联;水位较深时,水位的长期缓慢下降自然会导致δ18Oc逐渐攀升,而水位的长期缓慢上升也可以伴随δ18Oc逐渐攀升。     

Post-glacial vegetation history of the Mission Mountains,Montana

A pollen record from Rock Lake in the Mission Mountains, northwestern Montana reveals a four-zone sequence reflecting Holocene vegetation change. Chronologic control is provided by two well-known tephras, Glacier Peak (11 200 yr B.P.) and Mazama (6800 yr B.P.). The presence of Glacier Peak tephra above the basal inorganic sediments indicates deglaciation prior to 11 200 yr B.P. Colonizing vegetation (Zone I) after the fall of Glacier Peak tephra was dominated byArtemisia (sage) andAlnus (alder). The presence ofAbies needles,Picea needles, and oneTaxus needle in the core demonstrates that these taxa were at Rock Lake at the time Zone II sediments were deposited. The increase inPinus,Picea, andAbies pollen in Zone II (10 850-4750 yr B.P.) suggests warmer and drier conditions prevailed, and may record the Hypsithermal. The pervasiveness ofPicea andAbies pollen in Pollen Zone III (4750-3350 yr B.P.) suggests the emergence of the modern subalpine forest. Pollen Zone IV (3350 yr B.P.-present) is characterized by relatively little change in the pollen assemblages. One noted change, however, is the increase of Cyperaceae (sedge), which may indicate an expansion of shore-line around the lake, possibly reflecting increased precipitation.This is the 5th in a series of papers published in this special AMQUA issue. These papers were presented at the 1994 meeting of the American Quaternary Association held 19–22 June, 1994, at the University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA. Dr Linda C. K. Shane served as guest editor for these papers.     

Efstadalsvatn – a multi-proxy study of a Holocene lacustrine sequence from NW Iceland

Multi-proxy data, both lithostratigraphic and biostratigraphic, are presented from Efstadalsvatn, a lake in NW Iceland. The sequence covers the period 10,000 to 3500 ¹⁴C yr B.P. The biostratgraphic data include the first Icelandic chironomid-based reconstruction of Holocene mean July air temperatures, using a Norwegian training set in the absence of modern Icelandic data. The results show that deglaciation and ecosystem development probably began before 10,000 ¹⁴C yr B.P. and that July temperatures were around 4°C at ca. 9500 ¹⁴C yr B.P. Temperatures then rose to ca. 8°C at the time of the deposition of the Saksunarvatn tephra (9100 ¹⁴C yr B.P.), reaching ca. 10°C by 8500 ¹⁴C yr B.P., high enough for the growth of tree birch, although successful birch colonisation did not take place until 6750 ¹⁴C yr B.P. There is some evidence for cooling immediately preceding 9100 ¹⁴C yr B.P. There is little firm biostratigraphic evidence for the 8200 cal. B.P. event, although this may be due to a relatively low resolution pollen sampling interval, but there are changes at this time in the total carbon (TC) and mass susceptibility (MS) data. Optimal temperatures and relative vegetation stability may have occurred between 8000–6100 ¹⁴C yr B.P. but the chironomid assemblages indicate higher temperatures after 5000 ¹⁴C yr B.P. This latter interpretation may, however, reflect delayed colonisation of thermophilous taxa and requires further investigation. There is evidence in the lithostratigraphy for greater local terrestrial instability after 6100 ¹⁴C yr B.P. but it seems unlikely that this led to the redevelopment of ice in the catchment. The biostratigraphic records appear to show a degree of resistence to climate forcing throughout the early and middle Holocene. The new chironomid-based temperature reconstruction needs to be refined by further studies in Iceland, particularly the development of an Icelandic training set, but has already demonstrated the problems of paleoclimatic interpretations based on pollen and/or macrofossil evidence alone.     

Climato-limnological signals during the past 260 000 years in physical properties of bottom sediments from Lake Baikal

The St.16 core obtained from the Academician Ridge of Lake Baikal in eastern Siberia may span about 260 000 years, and some physical properties of the core samples are closely related to aquatic paleoproductivity and climatic change. The median of grain size, grain density, and water content fluctuate synchronously. They also are connected with change in the abundance of biogenic silica (diatoms). The physical parameters indicate that there were high aquatic productivity periods around interglacial periods (MIS 5 and 7; 70 000-125 000 yr B.P. and 180 000-250 000 yr B.P.). Comparatively large clastics were transported from outside of the lake through various routes (ice rafting, etc.) in addition to fluvial routes during the glacials or 'stadials. There are ca. 20 000 yr, 40 000 yr and 100 000 yr periods in the variations of physical properties. These are related to the three Milankovitch parameters of solar insolation.     

Late-Glacial and Holocene Record of Lake Levels of Mathews Pond and Whitehead Lake,Northern Maine,USA

Paleohydrology studies at Mathews Pond and Whitehead Lake in northern Maine revealed synchronous changes in lake levels from about 12,000 ¹⁴C yrs BP to the present. We analyzed gross sediment structure, organic and carbonate content, mineral grain size, and macrofossils of six cores from each of the two lakes, and obtained 72 radiocarbon dates. Interpretation of this paleo-environmental data suggests that the late-glacial and Younger Dryas climate was dry, and lake levels were low. Early Holocene lake levels were considerably higher but declined for an interval from about 8000 to 7200 ¹⁴C yrs BP. Sediment of both lakes contains evidence of a dry period at ∼7400 ¹⁴C yrs BP (8200 cal yr). Lake levels of both sites declined abruptly about 4800 ¹⁴C yrs BP and remained low until 3000 ¹⁴C yrs BP. Modern lake levels were achieved only within the past 600 years. The west-to-east, time-transgressive nature of lake-level changes from several sites across northeastern North America suggests periodic changes in atmospheric circulation patterns as a driving force behind observed moisture balance changes. Electronic supplementary material to this article is available at and accessible for authorized users.     

Records of aquatic pollen and sediment properties as indicators of late-Quaternary Alaskan lake levels

We investigated whether techniques developed to evaluate qualitative lake-level changes in the temperate zone can be used in sub-arctic and arctic Alaska. We focused on aquatic pollen records and sediment properties (loss-on-ignition and magnetic susceptibility) from centrally-located sediment-surface samples and cores, as these are the most commonly reported data in the literature. Modern aquatic pollen values are generally low (< 5%) and may be zero, even in lakes with abundant aquatic macrophytes. Greater diversity and higher values of aquatic pollen are likely at depths < 5 m, but pollen is found in depths up to 15 m. It is absent at depths > 20 m. Spores of Isoetes and Equisetum and Pediastrum cell-nets, when present, tend to be widely distributed, even in deep water. At Birch Lake, interior Alaska, trends in aquatic taxa and sediment characteristics for the last ca. 12,000 ¹⁴C yrs recorded in a single, deep-water core reflect the same water-level changes as do transect-based lake-level reconstructions - if modern distributional characteristics of pollen and spores are taken into account. The lake rose from extremely low levels at ca. 12,000 ¹⁴C yr B.P. After a period of fluctuation, it rose to a relatively high level by ca. 8000 ¹⁴C yr B.P. and then stabilized. A preliminary survey of aquatic pollen trends from other lake-sediment records suggests that the period ca. 11,000-8000 ¹⁴C yr B.P. may have seen relatively low lake levels in north-western and interior Alaska and high levels thereafter. Changes in aquatic pollen and sediments are evident in north-eastern interior lakes at the same time, but they are more difficult to interpret. Aquatic pollen productivity in Alaskan lakes may partly depend on factors other than water depth (e.g. temperature, pH, nutrient status, or length of the ice-free season). An Alaska-wide reconstruction of late-Quaternary lake levels based on extant single-core data would be best done after further study of contributing factors that may control sediment properties and aquatic pollen distribution.     

The paleolimnology of North Pond: watershed-lake interactions

We examined the stratigraphic record of North Pond, a small, oligotrophic lake in western Massachusetts, U.S.A. to describe late and post-glacial watershed-lake interactions. In particular we investigated the effects of two similar vegetation changes in the watershed on lake biogeochemistry. There was a transient (about 100 years) decline in hemlock ca. 7500 yr B.P. that has not been recorded in other pollen stratigraphies in the northeast. The second event was the classical hemlock decline that occurred ca. 4800 yr B.P. and lasted about 2000 years. This decline occurred throughout the range of hemlock and is thought to have been caused by a pathogen. As the climate began to warm ca. 10 000 yr B.P., a spruce dominated boreal woodland was established in the watershed. Sediment chemistry data showed that as soils became more acidic, the lake also acidified as evidenced by diatom-inferred (DI) pH. Hemlock was established in the watershed by about 8000 yr B.P. This was accompanied by a slight decrease in DI pH. The transient hemlock decline ca. 7500 yr B.P. was associated with an increase in sedimentary charcoal particles, that suggested fire was responsible for its demise. The diatom stratigraphy indicated a brief, slight, increase in productivity and alkalinity and a brief decrease in lakewater dissolved organic carbon concentrations. Aquatic microfossil data indicated a decrease in the area of the littoral zone ca. 7500 yr B.P. Following the transient decline the lake became more acidic. There were only brief, subtle changes associated with the classical hemlock decline, including a slight decline in DI pH. Although the two disturbances involved a similar vegetation shift, the timing and mechanisms of the disturbances had a greater impact on lake biogeochemistry.     

Coastal Massachusetts pond development: edaphic,climatic, and sea level impacts since deglaciation

Kettle ponds in the Cape Cod National Seashore in southeastern Massachusetts differ in their evolution due to depth of the original ice block, the clay content of outwash in their drainage basins, and their siting in relation to geomorphic changes caused by sea-level rise, barrier beach formation, and saltmarsh development. Stratigraphic records of microfossil, carbon isotope, and sediment changes also document late-glacial and Holocene climatic changes.The ponds are separated into 3 groups, each of which follow different development scenarios. Group I ponds date from the late-glacial. They formed in clay-rich outwash, have perched aquifers and continuous lake sediment deposition. The earliest pollen and macrofossil assemblages in Group I pond sediments suggest tundra and spruce-willow parklands before 12 000 yr B.P., boreal forest between 12 000 and 10 500 yr B.P., bog/heath initiation and expansion during the Younger Dryas between 11 000 and 10 000 yr B.P., northern conifer forest between 10 500 and 9500 yr B.P., and establishment of the Cape oak and pitch pine barrens vegetation after 9500 yr B.P. Sedimentation rate changes suggest lowered freshwater levels between 9000 and 5000 yr B.P. caused by decreased precipitation on the Atlantic Coastal Plain. Lake sediment deposition began in the middle Holocene in Group II ponds which formed in clay-poor outwash. These ponds date from about 6000-5000 yr B.P. In these ponds sediment deposition began as sea level rose and the freshwater lens intersected the dry basins. The basal radiocarbon dates of these ponds and stable carbon isotope analyses of the pond sediments suggest a sea-level curve for Cape Cod Bay. Holocene topographic changes in upland and the landscape surrounding the ponds is reconstructed for this coastal area.Group III ponds in the late Holocene landscape of the Provincelands dunes originated as interdunal bogs about 1000 yr B.P. and became ponds more recently as water-levels increased. Peat formation in the Provincelands reflects climatic changes evident on both sides of the Atlantic region.This is the 8th in a series of papers published in this special AMQUA issue. These papers were presented at the 1994 meeting of the American Quaternary Association held 19–22 June, 1994, at the University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA. Dr Linda C. K. Shane served as guest editor for these papers.     

Big lake records preserved in a little lake’s sediment: an example from Silver Lake,Michigan, USA

We reconstruct postglacial lake-level history within the Lake Michigan basin using soil stratigraphy, ground-penetrating radar (GPR), sedimentology and ¹⁴C data from the Silver Lake basin, which lies adjacent to Lake Michigan. Stratigraphy in nine vibracores recovered from the floor of Silver Lake appears to reflect fluctuation of water levels in the Lake Michigan basin. Aeolian activity within the study area from 3,000 years (cal yr. B.P.) to the present was inferred from analysis of buried soils, an aerial photograph sequence, and GPR. Sediments in and around Silver Lake appear to contain a paleoenvironmental record that spans the entire post-glacial history of the Lake Michigan basin. We suggest that (1) a pre-Nipissing rather than a Nipissing barrier separated Silver Lake basin from the Lake Michigan basin, (2) that the Nipissing transgression elevated the water table in the Silver Lake basin about 6,500 cal yr. B.P., resulting in reestablishment of a lake within the basin, and (3) that recent dune migration into Silver Lake is associated with levels of Lake Michigan. This is the fourth in a series of ten papers published in this special issue of Journal of Paleolimnology. These papers were presented at the 47th Annual Meeting of the International Association for Great Lakes Research (2004), held at the University of Waterloo, Waterloo, Ontario, Canada. P.F. Karrow and C.F.M. Lewis were guest editors of this special issue.     

A 7000-Year Record of Environmental Change,Bear Lake,Rocky Mountain National Park,USA

Few long-term records of the fire history of Rocky Mountain National Park exist. Data from a lake sediment core was used to reconstruct changes in vegetation and fire frequencies over the last 7000 cal yr. Bear Lake is a high-elevation lake surrounded by subalpine vegetation in Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado. Pollen data indicate that a warm and dry climate prevailed between ca. 7000 and 5000 cal yr BP. Temperatures increased until shortly before ca. 3500 cal yr BP when evidence for a marked decline is seen. Cooler-than-present conditions were maintained until ca. 1700 cal yr BP, when conditions transitioned to more like those of the present-day climate. Based on macroscopic charcoal analyses, fire frequency had varied between two and five episodes per 1000 years. The largest peak in charcoal was at ca. 590 cal yr BP. The fire return interval has varied with climate over time; however, we calculate a fire return interval of 325 years over the past 7000 years. Given these results, fire activity is likely to increase under current Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change climate projections of an increase in annual temperatures.