Quaternary features beneath Lake Simcoe,Ontario, Canada: drumlins,tunnel channels,and records of proglacial to postglacial closed and overflowing lakes

Lake Simcoe is a large lake 45 km across and in places over 30 m deep, located between Lake Huron and Lake Ontario, in the glaciated terrain of southern Ontario, Canada. Seismostratigraphic analysis of high-resolution seismic reflection profiles, together with lakebed sediment sampling and pollen study, revealed distinctive sequences in the sediments beneath Lake Simcoe, Ontario. A surface unit (Blue Sequence) of soft Holocene mud (low-amplitude surface reflection, discontinuous parallel internal reflections) lies in the deeper basins of the lake. The underlying unit (Green Sequence) is characterized by high-amplitude parallel internal reflections; basal sediments of this sequence consist of clay rhythmites with dropstones. The Green Sequence was deposited by lacustrine sedimentation in proglacial Lake Algonquin; sedimentation persisted until the basin was isolated from other glacial lakes at about 10 ¹⁴C ka at the Penetang post-Algonquin phase. Subsequent erosion of the uppermost portion of the Green Sequence is attributed to wave action in a low-level early Holocene lake, possibly closed hydrologically and coeval with closed lowstands in the Huron and Georgian Bay basins. Two sequences with high-amplitude surface reflections and chaotic internal reflections (Purple and Red Sequences) lie below the Green Sequence. Northeast-southwest trending ridges, tens of metres in height, on the Red Sequence (the lowermost of these two units) are interpreted to be drumlins. An erosion surface descends into narrow valleys 50–80 m deep beneath the lake in bays to the west and south of the main lake basin. These depressions are interpreted as subglacial tunnel channels cut by rapid flows of meltwater. The sediments of Purple Sequence are interpreted as channel-fill sediments rapidly deposited during waning stages of the meltwater drainage. The Red Sequence is correlated with the Newmarket Till of the last glacial maximum identified beneath the Oak Ridges Moraine to the south.     

New seismic stratigraphy and Late Tertiary history of the North Tanganyika Basin, East African Rift system, deduced from multichannel and high-resolution reflection seismic data and piston core evidence

Abstract We present here the initial results of a high-resolution (sparker) reflection seismic survey in Northern Lake Tanganyika, East African Rift system. We have combined these results with data from earlier multichannel reflection seismic and 5-kHz echosounding surveys. The combination of the three complementary seismic investigation methods has allowed us to propose a new scenario for the late Aliocene to Recent sedimentary evolution of the North Tanganyika Basin. Seismic sequences and regional tectonic information permit us to deduce the palaeotopography at the end of each stratigraphic sequence. The basin history comprises six phases interpreted to be responses to variations in regional tectonism and/or climate. Using the reflection seismic-radiocarbon method (RSRM), the minimum ages for the start of each phase (above each sequence boundary) are estimated to be: ?7.4 Ma, ? 1.1 Ma, ?393–363 ka, ?295–262 ka, ? 193–169 ka, ?40–35 ka. Corresponding lowstand lake elevations below present lake level for the last five phases are estimated to have been: ?650–700 m, ?350 m, ?350 m, ?250 m and ? 160 m, respectively. The latest phase from ?40–35 ka until the present can be subdivided into three subphases separated by two lowstand periods, dated at ?23 ka and ? 18 ka. From the late Miocene until the mid Pleistocene, large-scale patterns of sedimentation within the basin were primarily controlled by tectonism. In contrast, from the mid Pleistocene to the present, sedimentation in Lake Tanganyika seems to have responded dramatically to climatic changes as suggested by repeated patterns of lake level fluctuations. During this period, the basin infill history is characterized by the recurrent association of three types of deposits: ‘basin fill’ accumulations; lens-shaped ‘deep lacustrine fans’; and ‘sheet drape’ deposits. The successive low-lake-level fluctuations decreased in intensity with time as a consequence of rapid sedimentary filling under conditions of declining tectonic subsidence. The climate signal has thus been more pronounced in recent sedimentary phases as tectonic effects have waned.     

Postglacial sedimentary record and history of West Hawk Lake crater,Manitoba

West Hawk Lake (WHL) is located within the glacial Lake Agassiz basin, 140 km east of Winnipeg, Manitoba. The small lake lies in a deep, steep-sided, meteorite impact crater, which has been partly filled by 60 m of sediment that today forms a flat floor in the central part of the basin below 111 m of water. Four cores, 5–11 m in length, were collected using a Kullenberg piston gravity corer. All sediment is clay, contains no unconformities, and has low organic content in all but the upper meter. Sample analyses include bulk and clay mineralogy, major and minor elements, TOC, stable isotopes of C, N, and O, pollen, charcoal, diatoms, and floral and faunal macrofossils. The sequence is divided into four units based mainly on thickness and style of lamination, diatoms, and pollen. AMS radiocarbon dates do not provide a clear indication of age in the postglacial sequence; possible explanations include contamination by older organic inwash and downward movement of younger organic acids. A chronological framework was established using only selected AMS dates on plant macrofossils, combined with correlations to dated events outside the basin and paleotopographic reconstructions of Lake Agassiz. The 822 1-cm-thick varves in the lower 8 m of the cored WHL sequence were deposited just prior to 10,000 cal years BP (∼8,900 ¹⁴C years BP), during the glacial Lake Agassiz phase of the lake. The disappearance of dolomite near the top of the varved sequence reflects the reduced influence of Lake Agassiz and the carbonate bedrock and glacial sediment in its catchment. The lowermost varves are barren of organisms, indicating cold and turbid glacial lake waters, but the presence of benthic and planktonic algae in the upper 520 varves indicates warming; this lake phase coincides with a change in clay mineralogy, δ¹⁸O and δ¹³C in cellulose, and in some other parameters. This change may have resulted from a major drawdown in Lake Agassiz when its overflow switched from northwest to east after formation of the Upper Campbell beach of that lake 9,300–9,400 ¹⁴C years ago. The end of thick varve deposition at ∼10,000 cal years BP is related to the opening of a lower eastern outlet of Lake Agassiz and an accompanying drop in West Hawk Lake level. WHL became independent from Lake Agassiz at this time, sedimentation rates dropped, and only ∼2.5 m of sediment was deposited in the next 10,000 years. During the first two centuries of post-Lake Agassiz history, there were anomalies in the diatom assemblage, stable O and C isotopes, magnetic susceptibility, and other parameters, reflecting an unstable watershed. Modern oligotrophic conditions were soon established; charcoal abundance increased in response to the reduced distance to the shoreline and to warmer conditions. Regional warming after ∼9,500 cal years BP is indicated by pollen and diatoms as well as C and O isotope values. Relatively dry conditions are suggested by a rise in pine and decrease in spruce and other vegetation types between 9,500 and 5,000 cal years BP (∼8,500–4,400 ¹⁴C years BP), plus a decrease in δ¹³C_cell values. After this, there was a shift to slightly cooler and wetter conditions. A large increase in organic content and change in elemental concentration in the past several thousand years probably reflects a decline in supply of mineral detritus to the basin and possibly an increase in productivity.     

A new water-level history for Lake Ontario basin: evidence for a climate-driven early Holocene lowstand

Piston cores from deep-water bottom deposits in Lake Ontario contain shallow-water sediments such as, shell-rich sand and silt, marl, gyttja, and formerly exposed shore deposits including woody detritus, peat, sand and gravel, that are indicative of past periods of significantly lower water levels. These and other water-level indicators such as changes in rates of sedimentation, mollusc shells, pollen, and plant macrofossils were integrated to derive a new water-level history for Lake Ontario basin using an empirical model of isostatic adjustment for the Great Lakes basin to restore dated remnants of former lake levels to their original elevations. The earliest dated low-level feature is the Grimsby-Oakville bar which was constructed in the western end of the lake during a near stillstand at 11–10.4 (12.9–12.3 cal) ka BP when Early Lake Ontario was confluent with the Champlain Sea. Rising Lake Ontario basin outlet sills, a consequence of differential isostatic rebound, severed the connection with Champlain Sea and, in combination with the switch of inflowing Lake Algonquin drainage northward to Ottawa River valley via outlets near North Bay and an early Holocene dry climate with enhanced evaporation, forced Lake Ontario into a basin-wide lowstand between 10.4 and 7.5 (12.3 and 8.3 cal) ka BP. During this time, Lake Ontario operated as a closed basin with no outlets, and sites such as Hamilton Harbour, Bay of Quinte, Henderson Harbor, and a site near Amherst Island existed as small isolated basins above the main lake characterized by shallow-water, lagoonal or marsh deposits and fossils indicative of littoral habitats and newly exposed mudflats. Rising lake levels resulting from increased atmospheric water supply brought Lake Ontario above the outlet sills into an open, overflowing state ending the closed phase of the lake by ~7.5 (8.3 cal) ka BP. Lake levels continued to rise steadily above the Thousand Islands sill through mid-to-late Holocene time culminating at the level of modern Lake Ontario. The early and middle Holocene lake-level changes are supported by temperature and precipitation trends derived from pollen-climate transfer functions applied to Roblin Lake on the north side of Lake Ontario.     

A late Lake Minong transgression in the Lake Superior basin as documented by sediments from Fenton Lake, Ontario

The evolution of the early Great Lakes was driven by changing ice sheet geometry, meltwater influx, variable climate, and isostatic rebound. Unfortunately none of these factors are fully understood. Sediment cores from Fenton Lake and other sites in the Lake Superior basin have been used to document constantly falling water levels in glacial Lake Minong between 9,000 and 10,600 cal (8.1–9.5 ka) BP. Over three meters of previously unrecovered sediment from Fenton Lake detail a more complex lake level history than formerly realized, and consists of an early regression, transgression, and final regression. The initial regression is documented by a transition from gray, clayey silt to black sapropelic silt. The transgression is recorded by an abrupt return to gray sand and silt, and dates between 9,000 and 9,500 cal (8.1–8.6 ka) BP. The transgression could be the result of increased discharge from Lake Agassiz overflow or the Laurentide Ice Sheet, and hydraulic damming at the Lake Minong outlet. Alternatively ice advance in northern Ontario may have blocked an unrecognized low level northern outlet to glacial Lake Ojibway, which switched Lake Minong overflow back to the Lake Huron basin and raised lake levels. Multiple sites in the Lake Huron and Michigan basins suggest increased meltwater discharges occurred around the time of the transgression in Lake Minong, suggesting a possible linkage. The final regression in Fenton Lake is documented by a return to black sapropelic silt, which coincides with varve cessation in the Superior basin when Lake Agassiz overflow and glacial meltwater was diverted to glacial Lake Ojibway in northern Ontario.     

The sedimentary and palynological records of Serpent River Bog,and revised early Holocene lake-level changes in the Lake Huron and Georgian Bay region

Serpent River Bog lies north of North Channel, 10 m above Lake Huron and 15 m below the Nipissing Great Lake level. A 2.3 m Holocene sequence contains distinct alternating beds of inorganic clastic clay and organic peat that are interpreted as evidence of successive inundation and isolation by highstands and lowstands of the large Huron-Basin lake. Lowstand phases are confirmed by the presence of shallow-water pollen and plant macrofossil remains in peat units. Twelve ¹⁴C dates on peat, wood and plant macrofossils combined with previously published ¹⁴C ages of lake-level indicators confirm much of the known early Holocene lake-level history with one notable exception. A new Late Mattawa highstand (8,390 [9,400 cal]–8,220 [9,200 cal] BP) evidenced by a sticky blue-grey clay bed is tied to outburst floods of glacial Lake Minong during erosion of the Nadoway drift barrier in the eastern Lake Superior basin. A subsequent Late Mattawa highstand (8,110 [9,040 cal]–8,060 [8,970 cal] BP) is attributed to enhanced meltwater inflows that first had deposited thick varves throughout Superior Basin. Inundation by the Nadoway floods and possibly the last Mattawa flood were likely responsible for termination of the Olson Forest (southern Lake Michigan). A pollen diagram supports the recognized progression of Holocene vegetation, and defines a subzone implying a very dry, cool climate about 7.8–7.5 (8.6–8.3 cal) ka BP based on the Alnus crispa profile during the Late Stanley lowstand. A new date of 9,470 ± 25 (10,680–10,750 cal) BP on basal peat over lacustrine clay at Espanola West Bog supports the previous interpretation of the Early Mattawa highstand at ca. 9,500 (10,740 cal) BP. The organic and clastic sediment units at these two bogs are correlated with other records showing coherent evidence of Holocene repeated inundation and isolation around northern Lake Huron. Taken together the previous and new lake-level data suggest that the Huron and Georgian basin lakes were mainly closed lowstands throughout early Holocene time except for short-lived highstands. Three of the lowstands were exceptionally low, and likely caused three episodes of offshore sediment erosion which had been previously identified as seismo-stratigraphic sequence boundaries.     

Constraints on paleolake levels,spillways and glacial lake history,north-central Ontario,Canada

The recognition of ice-marginal deltas constructed during the formation of the Nakina II moraine and a previously unrecognized spillway, in the vicinity of Longlac, northern Ontario, indicates that existing concepts of ancestral lake level history and drainage systems in the Lake Superior–Lake Nipigon region is inadequate. Based on isostatically corrected digital elevation maps, ice-marginal deltas of the Nakina II moraine probably formed at the level of glacial Lake Minong, most likely Minong III, and not glacial Lake Nakina as has been commonly suggested. In addition, the presence of a spillway near Longlac indicates that lake water drained southward through the Mullet Outlet–Pic River system immediately following ice-marginal retreat from the Nakina II moraine and not eastward as previously proposed. Architectural-element analysis of exposures within the spillway indicates hyperconcentrated outbursts of meltwater produced thick channel-fill elements during flood conditions with peak-velocities exceeding 3 m/s. Subsequent retreat of ice from the Pic River valley to the east, may have allowed waters of Lake Agassiz, Lake Barlow–Ojibway, or both, to drain into post-Minong lake levels in the Lake Superior basin. These findings place major constraints on previously proposed concepts of northeastern or eastern outlets of Lake Agassiz.     

Early Holocene drought in the Laurentian Great Lakes basin caused hydrologic closure of Georgian Bay

Multiple proxies record aridity in the northern Great Lakes basin ~8,800–8,000 cal (8,000–7,200) BP when water levels fell below outlets in the Michigan, Huron and Georgian Bay basins. Pollen-climate transfer function calculations on radiocarbon-dated pollen profiles from small lakes from Minnesota to eastern Ontario show that a drier climate was sufficient to lower the Great Lakes, in particular Georgian Bay, to closed basins. The best modern climate analog for the early Holocene late Lake Hough stage in the Georgian Bay basin is Black Bass Lake near Brainerd MN. Modern annual precipitation at Brainerd is ~35% lower than at Huntsville ON, in the Georgian Bay catchment; warmer summers and colder, less snowy winters make Brainerd drier than the Georgian Bay snow belt. These values parallel transfer function reconstructions for the early Holocene from pollen records at five small lakes in the Georgian Bay drainage basin. Higher evaporation and evapotranspiration due to greater seasonality during the early Holocene produced a deficit in effective moisture in Georgian Bay that is recorded by the jack/red pine pollen zone that spanned ~8,800–8,200 cal (8,000–7,500) BP. This deficit drove late Lake Hough ~5 m below Lake Stanley in the Huron basin, following diversion of Laurentide Ice sheet meltwater from the Great Lakes basin. The level of Georgian Bay largely depends not on fluvial input from its own drainage basin, but rather from Lake Superior, where the early Holocene moisture deficit was greater. Reconstruction of paleoclimates in Minnesota, northwestern Ontario and Wisconsin produced a closed lake in the Superior basin, which removed the main water input to Georgian Bay. Once the inflow through the St. Marys River was reduced and inflow from other tributary streams was adjusted for isostatic and climatic differences, input was <5% of modern values. Consequent high evaporation rates produced a significant fall in lake level in the Georgian Bay basin and a negative water budget. This reduction in basin supply, together with the high conductivity of stagnant water in late Lake Hough inferred from microfossils in lowstand sediments, peaked at the end of the jack/red pine zone, ~8,300–8,200 (7,450 ± 90) BP. These major hydrologic changes resulting from climate change in the recent geologic past draw attention to possible declines of the Great Lakes under future climates.     

Tectono‐sedimentary evolution of the Plio‐Pleistocene Corinth rift,Greece

The onshore central Corinth rift contains a syn‐rift succession >3 km thick deposited in 5–15 km‐wide tilt blocks, all now inactive, uplifted and deeply incised. This part of the rift records upward deepening from fluviatile to lake‐margin conditions and finally to sub‐lacustrine turbidite channel and lobe complexes, and deep‐water lacustrine conditions (Lake Corinth) were established over most of the rift by 3.6 Ma. This succession represents the first of two phases of rift development – Rift 1 from 5.0–3.6 to 2.2–1.8 Ma and Rift 2 from 2.2–1.8 Ma to present. Rift 1 developed as a 30 km‐wide zone of distributed normal faulting. The lake was fed by four major N‐ to NE‐flowing antecedent drainages along the southern rift flank. These sourced an axial fluvial system, Gilbert fan deltas and deep lacustrine turbidite channel and lobe complexes. The onset of Rift 2 and abandonment of Rift 1 involved a 30 km northward shift in the locus of rifting. In the west, giant Gilbert deltas built into a deepening lake depocentre in the hanging wall of the newly developing southern border fault system. Footwall and regional uplift progressively destroyed Lake Corinth in the central and eastern parts of the rift, producing a staircase of deltaic and, following drainage reversal, shallow marine terraces descending from >1000 m to present‐day sea level. The growth, linkage and death of normal faults during the two phases of rifting are interpreted to reflect self‐organization and strain localization along co‐linear border faults. In the west, interaction with the Patras rift occurred along the major Patras dextral strike‐slip fault. This led to enhanced migration of fault activity, uplift and incision of some early Rift 2 fan deltas, and opening of the Rion Straits at ca. 400–600 ka. The landscape and stratigraphic evolution of the rift was strongly influenced by regional palaeotopographic variations and local antecedent drainage, both inherited from the Hellenide fold and thrust belt.     

Glacial Lake Musselshell: Late Wisconsin slackwater on the Laurentide ice margin in central Montana, USA

Cosmogenic surface exposure ages of glacial boulders deposited in ice-marginal Lake Musselshell suggest that the lake existed between 20 and 11.5 ka during the Late Wisconsin glacial stage (MIS 2), rather than during the Late Illinoian stage (MIS 6) as traditionally thought. The altitude of the highest ice-rafted boulders and the lowest passes on the modern divide indicate that glacial lake water in the Musselshell River basin reached at least 920–930 m above sea level and generally remained below 940 m. Exposures of rhythmically bedded silt and fine sand indicate that Lake Musselshell is best described as a slackwater system, in which the ice-dammed Missouri and Musselshell Rivers rose and fell progressively throughout the existence of the lake rather than establishing a lake surface with a stable elevation. The absence of varves, deltas and shorelines also implies an unstable lake. The changing volume of the lake implies that the Laurentide ice sheet was not stable at its southernmost position in central Montana. A continuous sequence of alternating slackwater lake sediment and lacustrine sheetflood deposits indicates that at least three advances of the Laurentide ice sheet occurred in central Montana between 20 and 11.5 ka. Between each advance, it appears that Lake Musselshell drained to the north and formed two outlet channels that are now occupied by extremely underfit streams. A third outlet formed when the water in Lake Musselshell fully breached the Larb Hills, resulting in the final drainage of the lake. The channel through the Larb Hills is now occupied by the Missouri River, implying that the present Missouri River channel east of the Musselshell River confluence was not created until the Late Wisconsin, possibly as late as 11.5 ka.     

Reconstruction of glacial Lake Hind in southwestern Manitoba, Canada

Glacial Lake Hind was a 4000 km² ice-marginal lake which formed in southwestern Manitoba during the last deglaciation. It received meltwater from western Manitoba, Saskatchewan, and North Dakota via at least 10 channels, and discharged into glacial Lake Agassiz through the Pembina Spillway. During the early stage of deglaciation in southwestern Manitoba, part of the glacial Lake Hind basin was occupied by glacial Lake Souris which extended into the area from North Dakota. Sediments in the Lake Hind basin consist of deltaic gravels, lacustrine sand, and clayey silt. Much of the uppermost lacustrine sand in the central part of the basin has been reworked into aeolian dunes. No beaches have been recognized in the basin. Around the margins, clayey silt occurs up to a modern elevation of 457 m, and fluvio-deltaic gravels occur at 434–462 m. There are a total of 12 deltas, which can be divided into 3 groups based on elevation of their surfaces: (1) above 450 m along the eastern edge of the basin and in the narrow southern end; (2) between 450 and 442 m at the western edge of the basin; and (3) below 442 m. The earliest stage of glacial Lake Hind began shortly after 12 ka, as a small lake formed between the Souris and Red River lobes in southwestern Manitoba. Two deltas at an elevation of 450 were formed in this lake. At the same time, the Souris Lobe retreated far enough to allow glacial Lake Souris to expand farther north along the western side of the basin from North Dakota into what was to become glacial Lake Hind. Three deltas were built at an elevation above 460 m in the Canadian part of this proglacial lake. Continued ice retreat allowed the merger of glacial Lake Souris with the interlobate glacial Lake Hind to the east. Subsequent erosion of the outlet to the Pembina Spillway allowed waters in the glacial Lake Hind basin to become isolated from glacial Lake Souris, and a new level of glacial Lake Hind was established at 442 m, with 5 deltas built at this level by meltwater runoff from the west. Next, a catastrophic flood from the Moose Mountain uplands in southeastern Saskatchewan flowed through the Souris River valley to glacial Lake Souris, spilling into Lake Hind and depositing another delta. This resulted in further incision of the outlet (Pembina Spillway). A second flood through the Souris Spillway from glacial Lake Regina further eroded the outlet; most of glacial Lake Hind was drained at this time except for the deeper northern part. Coarse gravel was deposited by this flood, which differs from previous flood gravel because it is massive and contains less shale.     

Late Holocene palaeoenvironmental evolution of the Roman harbour of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Portus</Emphasis>, Italy

We present a Holocene record of climate and environmental change in central New York (USA) inferred using lithologic and stable isotope data from two sediment cores recovered in Cayuga Lake. The record was divided into three intervals: (1) early Holocene (~11.6–8.8 ka), (2) Hypsithermal (~8.8–4.4 ka), and (3) Neoglacial (~4.4 ka to present). The early Holocene began abruptly, with rising lake level and relatively deep water. Between ~10.8 and 9.2 ka, cool and dry conditions prevailed at a time of maximum solar insolation. This anomaly has been referred to as the “post-Younger Dryas climate interval” and lasted ~1,600 years, the approximate length of one “Bond cycle.” The Hypsithermal was the warmest, wettest and most biologically productive interval of the Holocene in central New York. The Hypsithermal was characterized by centennial to multi-centennial-scale variability. The 8.2 ka event is one such variation. The Neoglacial was an interval of generally cooler and dryer conditions, falling lake levels, and several prominent climate anomalies. At approximately 2.4 ka, δ¹³C of bulk organic matter increased abruptly by 5‰ as lake level declined, and the lake flora was dominated by Chara sp. during the coldest interval of the Neoglacial. Numerous sediment variables display increased variability ~2.0 ka, which continues today. Archaeological data from the literature suggest that Native American populations may have been large enough to impact land cover by about 2.4 ka and we hypothesize that the “Anthropocene” began at about that time in central New York. We also found paleolimnological evidence for the Medieval Warm Period (~1.4–0.5 ka), which was warmer and wetter than today, and for the Little Ice Age (~500–150 years ago), a period with temperatures colder than today.     

Early-Holocene geochemical evolution of saline Medicine Lake,South Dakota

Medicine Lake is a highly saline, meromictic, magnesium sulfate, closed-basin lake in northeastern South Dakota. The geochemical, mineralogical, and magnetic stratigraphies of sediments deposited from about 10.8 to 4.5 ka B.P. document the evolution of the saline brine in response to climatic change in the early to mid-Holocene. During the spruce occupation of the Medicine Lake catchment (10.8–10.0 ka B.P.), dark-grey massive basal sediments with low total-sulfur and carbonate content, upwardly increasing organic-carbon content, and high magnetic susceptibility were deposited in a deep freshwater lake. As the vegetation in the area changed from spruce to birch to oak and elm and finally to prairie between 10.0 and 9.2 ka B.P., and as the lake became shallow and salinity increased from <2 to >10%, light-and dark-grey calcareous and organic-carbon-rich banded sediments with low total-sulfur content and low magnetic susceptibility were deposited. Previous studies have shown that during the forest/prairie transition the lake then changed abruptly from fresh to saline as it lost a substantial portion of its volume. During the early prairie period (9.2–5.5 ka B.P.), alternating sections of aragonite-rich laminae and grey massive sediments with high total-sulfur content and multiple gypsum layers were deposited in a meromictic environment under conditions of fluctuating lake levels and salinity. Continued aridity during the mid-Holocene (5.5–4.5 ka B.P.) probably maintained the lake at relatively low levels and high salinity as dark-grey generally massive sediments with moderate total-sulfur, carbonate, and organic-carbon content and no measurable magnetic susceptibility were deposited.     

Potential water sources for Late Quaternary Megalake Jilantai-Hetao,China, inferred from mollusk shell <Superscript>87</Superscript>Sr/<Superscript>86</Superscript>Sr ratios

Lake Jilantai-Hetao, a megalake, was formed some time before 60–50 ka, along the Great North Bend of the Yellow River. The basin is now dry, with most of the area covered by aeolian sand. We are investigating this profound hydrologic change using a number of research approaches. Paleoshorelines of this megalake are best preserved in the Jilantai area in the southwestern portion of the megalake basin. We collected aquatic mollusk shells from littoral sediments at different altitudes around Jilantai and measured their strontium isotope compositions. ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr ratios in shell carbonates are different between the high lake phase (~1,080–1,050 m altitude) and the low lake phase (~1,044–1,030 m altitude), with a small shift in average strontium ratios to more radiogenic values during the low lake phase. Based on regional hydrology and physical geography, we conclude that water from the Yellow River was the dominant water source supplying this megalake. ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr ratios of modern water samples suggest the Yellow River was the dominant water source during the high lake phase, but that the relative contribution of Yellow River water to the megalake was reduced, and that the relative contributions of local precipitation and groundwater increased, during the low lake phase.     

Bathymetry of Lake Lisan controls late Pleistocene and Holocene stream incision in response to base level fall

This paper examines the millennial-scale evolution of the longitude profile of Nahal (Wadi) Zin in the Dead Sea basin in the northern Arava valley, Israel. Nahal Zin has incised ~ 50 m into relatively soft late Pleistocene Lake Lisan sediments. Incision was forced by the regressive (> 10 km) lake level fall of a total of > 200 m of Lake Lisan from its highest stand at ~ 25 ka and exposure of the lake-floor sediments to fluvial and coastal processes. Alluvial cut terraces of the incising channel are well preserved along the 17.5 km of the lowermost reach of Nahal Zin. At its outlet into the Dead Sea basin, Nahal Zin deposited a Holocene alluvial fan at the base of a 10–80 m high escarpment in unconsolidated sediments. The escarpment is associated with the Amazyahu fault, which forms the southern structural boundary of the present Dead Sea basin. Geomorphic mapping, optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) ages, and soil stratigraphy allowed correlation of terrace remnants and reconstruction of several past longitudinal profiles of Nahal Zin and its incision history. Together with the published lake level chronology, these data provide an opportunity to examine stream incision related to base level lowering at a millennial scale. OSL ages of the terraces fit relatively well with the established lake level chronology and follow its regression and fall. For a few thousands of years the longitudinal profile response to the lake level fall was downstream lengthening onto the exposed former lake bed. Most of the incision (~ 40 m) occurred later, when the lake level reached the top of the Amazyahu fault escarpment and continued to drop. The incision was a relatively short episode at about 17 ka and cut through this escarpment almost to its base. The fast incision, its timing, and the profiles of the incising channels indicate that the escarpment was an underwater feature and was not formed after the lake retreated.This fairly simple scenario of regressive lake level fall and knickpoint exposure and incision is modeled here using a one-dimensional numerical incision model based on a linear diffusion equation. The calculated diffusion coefficient fits earlier results and data obtained from other streams in the area and confirms the upscaling of this simple model to the millennial scale.     

Constraining Holocene lake levels and coastal dune activity in the Lake Michigan basin

Sediment cores collected from embayed lakes along the east-central coast of Lake Michigan are used to construct aeolian sand records of past coastal dune mobility, and to constrain former lake levels in the Lake Michigan basin. Time series analysis of sand cycles based on the weight-percent aeolian sand within lacustrine sediment, reveals statistically significant spectral peaks that coincide with established lake level cycles in Lake Michigan and the Gleissberg sunspot cycle of minima. Longer cycles of ~ 800 and ~ 2200 years were also identified that correspond to solar cycles. Shorter cycles between 80 and 220 years suggest a link between coastal dune mobility, climate, and lake levels in the Lake Michigan basin. Radiocarbon-dated sedimentary contacts of lacustrine sediment overlying wetland sediment record the Nipissing transgression in the Lake Michigan basin. Lake level rise closely mimics the predicted uplift of the North Bay outlet, with lake level rise slowing when outflow was transferred to the Port Huron/Sarnia outlet. The Nipissing highstand was reached after 5000 cal (4.4 ka) BP.     

Diatom-inferred lake level from near-shore cores in a drainage lake from the Experimental Lakes Area,northwestern Ontario,Canada

We inferred late Holocene lake-level changes from a suite of near-shore gravity cores collected in Lake 239 (Rawson Lake), a headwater lake in the Experimental Lakes Area, northwestern Ontario. Results were reproduced across all cores. A gravity core from the deep central basin was very similar to the near-shore cores with respect to trends in the percent abundance of the dominant diatom taxon, Cylcotella stelligera. The central basin, however, does not provide a sensitive site for reconstruction of lake-level changes because of the insensitivity of the diatom model at very high percentages of C. stelligera and other planktonic taxa. Quantitative estimates of lake level are based on a diatom-inferred depth model that was developed from surficial sediments collected along several depth transects in Lake 239. The lake-level reconstructions during the past ~3,000 years indicate that lake depth varied on average by ±2 m from present-day conditions, with maximum rises of ~3–4 m and maximum declines of ~3.5–5 m. The diatom-inferred depth record indicates several periods of persistent low levels during the nineteenth century, from ~900 to 1100 AD, and for extended periods prior to ~1,500 years ago. Periods of inferred high lake levels occurred from ~500 to 900 AD and ~1100 to 1650 AD. Our findings suggest that near-shore sediments from small drainage lakes in humid climates can be used to assess long-term fluctuations in lake level and water availability.     

Late Pleistocene: Holocene record of environmental changes in Lake Zirahuen,Central Mexico

Geochemical data obtained from X-ray fluorescence, physical properties, total organic and inorganic carbon content (TOC/TIC), and diatom analysis from a 6.61-m-long sedimentary sequence near the modern northern shore of Lake Zirahuen (101° 44′ W, 19° 26′ N, 2000 m asl) provide a reconstruction of lacustrine sedimentation during the last approximately 17 cal kyr BP. A time scale is based on ten AMS ¹⁴C dates and by tephra layers from Jorullo (AD 1759-1764) and Paricutin (AD 1943-1952) volcanoes. The multiproxy analyses presented in this study reveal abrupt changes in environmental and climatic conditions. The results are compared to the paleo-record from nearby Lake Patzcuaro. Dry conditions and low lake level are inferred in the late Pleistocene until ca. 15 cal kyr BP, followed by a slight but sustained increase in lake level, as well as a higher productivity, peaking at ca. 12.1 cal kyr BP. This interpretation is consistent with several regional climatic reconstructions in central Mexico, but it is in opposition to record from Lake Patzcuaro. A sediment hiatus bracketed between 12.1 and 7.2 cal kyr BP suggests a drop in lake level in response to a dry early Holocene. A deeper, more eutrophic and turbid lake is recorded after 7.2 cal kyr BP. Lake level at the coring site during the mid Holocene is considered the highest for the past 17 cal kyr BP. The emplacement of the La Magueyera lava flows (LMLF), dated by thermoluminiscence at 6560 ± 950 year, may have reduced basin volume and contributed to the relative deepening of the lake after 7.2 cal kyr BP. The late Holocene (after 3.9 cal kyr BP) climate is characterized by high instability. Extensive erosion, lower lake levels, dry conditions and pulses of high sediment influx due to high rainfall are inferred for this time. Further decrease in lake level and increased erosion are recorded after ca. AD 1050, at the peak of Purepechas occupation (AD 1300–1521), and until the eighteenth century. Few lacustrine records extend back to the late Pleistocene—early Holocene in central Mexico; this paper contributes to the understanding of late Pleistocene-Holocene paleoclimates in this region.     

Wind control on the accumulation of heavy metals in sediment of Lake Ulubat,Anatolia, Turkey

Freshwater Lake Ulubat (z _mean = 1.5–2.0 m and Area = ~138 km²), NW Anatolia, Turkey was filled in by fine-to-medium-grain silts during the late Holocene. Deposition in Lake Ulubat has been 1.6 cm year⁻¹ for the last 50 years, but the sedimentation rate over the last ~1,600 years was lower (0.37 mm year⁻¹). The organic matter and carbonate contents of the infill show cyclic changes that reflect environmental fluctuations. The silt-dominated lithology and the vertically uniform heavy metal distributions are probably due to wind-controlled sedimentation in the lake. Heterogeneous mud, derived from a large, mountainous drainage basin, is deposited in the lake mostly during summer, June to October, when conditions are hot and calm. Winter months are stormier and sediments are re-suspended due to the shallow water depth and the effect of waves on the lake bottom. It is likely that re-suspended sediments, particularly fine-grained particles, together with the heavy metals, are transported out of the lake via the outlet, especially during periods of high lake level. This resuspension and removal process probably caused the lake sediments to become silt-dominated and depleted in heavy metals. The role of broad shallow lakes in sequestering sediments and heavy metals can be described more accurately when wind data are considered. Such information may also be helpful for land-use planning in downstream areas.     

Shallow lake trophic status linked to late Holocene climate and human impacts

Lake Mattamuskeet, North Carolina, USA is a large (162 km²) and shallow (mean depth = 1 m) coastal lake, which was significantly modified to support agricultural activities following European settlement in 1850. Paleolimnological proxies measured on a 400-cm sediment core collected from Lake Mattamuskeet reveal shifts in organic matter input and primary producer community structure in response to climatic and human impacts on the lake during the late Holocene. Stratigraphic changes in organic matter content, nutrients, metals, lignin phenols and photosynthetic pigments were used to divide the sediment core into three intervals. Interval I includes sediment deposited between A.D. 360–1584 and indicates a clear-water, sand-bottom state with low algal abundance. In addition, the lake catchment area experienced two significant fires during this interval that were recorded as charcoal layers in the core around A.D. 360 and A.D. 1435 (calibrated ¹⁴C AMS dates). Trophic structure changed with the onset of Interval II (A.D. 1584–1860) when total algal abundance increased, and the primary producer community was comprised primarily of diatoms, chrysophytes, cryptophytes and cyanobacteria. During this interval there was also an increase in terrestrial organic material input into the lake as well as a shift in plant type from woody gymnosperms to non-woody angiosperms as determined from lignin data. Sediment deposited in Lake Mattamuskeet following European settlement (Interval III, A.D. 1860-present) suggests a dramatic increase in organic-matter deposition, metals, primary-producer abundance and the onset of cyanobacterial dominance. Sedimentary evidence indicates that shallow-water primary producers can respond rapidly to climate change and human development.