Holocene development of aquatic vegetation in shallow Lake Njargajavri,Finnish Lapland,with evidence of water-level fluctuations and drying

Holocene development of aquatic plant communities in subarctic Lake Njargajavri, Finnish Lapland, was studied using plant macrofossil analysis. Sediment lithology, grain size, and C/N ratios showed distinct lithological phases, indicating past water-level fluctuations. The colonization of limnophytes took place right after the formation of the lake (after ca. 11,500 cal. BP). The earliest plant macrofossil assemblages indicate nutrient-rich conditions and a warmer climate than at present. After this primary succession phase, aquatic vascular plants were replaced by aquatic bryophytes (before ca. 10,200 cal. BP). Together with lithological evidence, we interpret this as being related to the lowering water table. According to palynological, chronological, and sedimentological evidence, Njargajavri underwent a very shallow phase between ca. 10,000 and 9500 cal. BP and dried out for an unknown period of time between ca. 8000 and 5000 cal. BP. After the dry phase, the water level started to rise and sedimentation at the coring point began again. Despite re-establishment of the lacustrine habitat, late-Holocene plant macrofossil data show no marked recolonization of either vascular limnophytes or bryophytes. The reason for all limnophytes being presently absent from the lake remains speculative. The lack of nutrients and/or the cooling climate (especially shortening of the open-water season) during the latter part of the Holocene may explain why limnophytes failed to recolonize the lake.     

Holocene environmental history in northwest Finnish Lapland reflected in the multi-proxy record of a small subarctic lake

A 2.5-m-long sediment core was retrieved from Lake Somaslampi, a small lake located in a kame field on the north slope of the Scandes Mountains in Finnish Lapland. Holocene environmental changes were inferred from the lithological, geochemical, pollen, diatom and Cladocera records stored in the lake sediment. The chronology was based on six radiocarbon AMS dates supported by a palynological control chronology. The sediment profile consists of a glacial sedimentary sequence truncated by a lacustrine one. A hiatus, tentatively correlated with climate cooling and advances of glaciers during the 8.2 ka yrs BP “Finse cooling Event”, occurs between these sequences. The glacial sequence was composed of fluvioglacial clastics, smoothly changing into glacio-lacustrine diatomaceous ooze deposited in a meromictic proglacial lake that covered the kame field. The meromixis was probably caused by the greater depth of the lake, the extended ice-cover, and the microbial mats covering large areas of the lake bottom. A distinct change in the biota of the glacio-lacustrine sediments indicates higher trophic conditions than during deposition of the fluvioglacial clastics. The late-Pleistocene vegetation was characterised by subarctic birch tundra vegetation (Betula–Salix–Ericaceae) with low biodiversity gradually changing to Betula–Pinus dominance in the early Holocene. The lake was deep and had a diatom inferred pH ~ 7 indicated also by the dominance of planktonic Cladocera. The base of the lacustrine sediment sequence (6,650–6,300 cal. BP) consisted of loess-rich sediment indicating an increase in eolian activity. This is also supported by the pollen record, which is dominated by more long-distant taxa such as Alnus and Pinus, and by the increased C/N ratio of the sediment. After the initial meromictic phase of the lake, an abrupt lowering of the water level occurred. Lake Somaslampi was isolated from the larger Pre-Lake Somas basin and became holomictic, shallow, much warmer and more productive, until the deterioration of climate around 3,000 yr BP and the increased input of clastics from the tundra soils. The vegetation followed the general climatic trend by gradually changing from the dominance of Betula and Pinus to the dominance of more tundra-related vegetation like Poaceae and Cyperaceae. However, the higher frequencies of planktonic Cladocera and centric diatoms in the most recent sediments indicates higher trophic conditions, increased turbulence and a prolonged ice-free period, which can possibly be linked to the recent climate warming especially in areas of higher altitude and latitude.     

Mid-Holocene palaeoclimatic and palaeohydrological conditions in northeastern European Russia: a multi-proxy study of Lake Vankavad

Mid-Holocene changes in vegetation, palaeohydrology and climate were investigated from the sediments of Lake Vankavad in the northern taiga of the Usa Basin, NE European Russia, through the analysis of pollen, plant macrofossils, Cladocera and diatoms. Lake Vankavad was probably formed at ca. 5000 BP (ca. 5600 cal. BP) and initially it was shallow with a littoral cladoceran fauna. Macrofossil and pollen results suggest that dense Betula-Picea forests grew in the vicinity and the shore was close to the sampling point. At ca. 4600 BP (ca. 5400 cal. BP) the water level rose coincident with the decrease in the density and area of forests, probably caused by cooling climate and accelerated spread of mires. There was also a further rise in the water level at ca. 3500 BP (ca. 3800 cal. BP). The initiation of the lake, followed by two periods of rising water-level, as well as the increase in mire formation, was a consequence of a rise in groundwater level. This probably reflects lower evapotranspiration in a cooling mid-Holocene climate and/or higher precipitation in the lowland area. Also the decreased forest density and area may have contributed to the lower evapotranspiration. It is also possible that permafrost aggradation or changes in peat ecosystems might have affected the hydrological conditions in the area.     

Late Holocene lake-level and lake development signals in Lower Herring Lake, Michigan

Paleolimnological investigations of a marginal lake in the Lake Michigan basin revealed signals of long-term lake-level changes primarily controlled by climatic forces. Multiple analyses identified concurrent signals in sediment chemistry, grain size, and the microfossil record. Coarse-grained sediments, benthic diatoms, and nutrient response species increased as lake levels rose or fell. Finer sediments and higher percentages of taxa associated with stable thermocline conditions occurred during high-lake periods. Sedimentary evidence revealed corresponding strong high-lake signals c. 2500–2200, 1800–1500, 1170–730, and 500–280 BP. Low-lake periods occurred c. 1500–1170 and 700–500 B.P. An additional signal of lake-level decline was apparent beginning c. 280 BP but was interrupted by anthropogenic effects. Evidence of extreme low-lake levels (c. 1400–1300 BP), and signals for a medieval warming period (1030–910 BP) and the Maunder minimum (370–325 BP) indicate occurrence of short-lived dry climatic conditions.     

Interpretation of Holocene lake-level change from diatom assemblages in Lake Sidi Ali,Middle Atlas,Morocco

While palaeohydrological changes in non-outlet lakes provide a key proxy indicator of past climatic fluctuations, for lake systems which have been chemically insensitive, it is necessary to use indicators of water depth rather than salinity to reconstruct their hydro- climatic histories. A study of diatoms in the modern sediments of Sidi Ali, a non-outlet lake in the Middle Atlas of Morocco, has shown a statistically significant correlation between water depth and the ratio of planktonic to littoral diatoms. This relationship is used to calibrate fossil diatom assemblages from a lake sediment core from the same lake to provide a quantitative index of water levels over the pastc. 6500 years. Palaeoecological evidence suggests that climatically induced hydrological variations have dominated the bulk of the mid-late Holocene lake sediment record, with significant human-induced catchment disturbance only occurring during the twentieth century. The pattern of water depth fluctuations suggests that the response time of the regional groundwater system to climatic forcing is <100 years.This is the third in a series of papers published in this issue on the paleolimnology of arid regions. These papers were presented at the Sixth International Palaeolimnology Symposium held 19–21 April, 1993 at the Australian National University, Canberra, Australia. Dr A. R. Chivas served as guest editor for these papers.     

冬夏季温度和降水变化对青海湖全新世环境变化的影响初探

青海湖是国内最大的内陆湖泊,位于青藏高原东北缘,因其处在东亚夏季风、印度季风和西风带的交替控制区域,对气候变化十分敏感,成为古环境变化研究的热点地区。有关青海湖的形成演化、环境变化和水文变化的研究也存在多种观点。本研究再分析了青海湖已报道的古环境指标和气候模式模拟的夏季、冬季温度和降水变化,力图更加全面地理解青海湖全新世以来的古环境变化。研究发现早全新世11~8 ka夏季降水量和表面蒸发量较大,冬季降水稀少,湖泊水位只有十余米深,使得青海湖周边风沙活动频繁。并且,早全新世的气候不稳定,经历了频繁和较大幅度的波动。全新世气候适宜期出现在8~6 ka,古环境指标指示这一时期为温暖湿润的气候环境,湖盆内植被以森林草原为主,湖泊水位不断上升。青海湖地区的夏季降水自6 ka开始减少,然而冬季降水增加,同时夏季温度和蒸发量减少,使得湖区植被组成由森林草原向高山草甸转变,湖区大范围形成古土壤。湖区古环境条件在晚全新世距今1.5 ka开始恶化,冬季和夏季降水同时减少,湖泊水位下降,风沙活动再次加强。     

Early and late Holocene water-level fluctuations of Lake Annecy, France: sediment and pollen evidence and climatic implications

Early and late Holocene water-level changes in Lake Annecy, France, were reconstructed from a sediment sequence from Annecy. Two early Holocene successive rises in lake level at ca. 8900-8700 BP are recorded. Another increase in lake level, beginning at ca. 780 BP, is documented. The higher lake-level conditions in Lake Annecy during the 9th millennium BP, i.e. between the Preboreal oscillation and the 8200 yr event, appear to coincide with a more widespread cooling period which has been recorded in western Europe, in the Greenland ice-sheet and the North Atlantic ocean. The rise in lake level at ca. 780 BP can be related to the early Little Ice Age.     

Seasonal variability of Holocene climate: a palaeolimnological study on varved sediments in Lake Jues (Harz Mountains, Germany)

Studies combining sedimentological and biological evidence to reconstruct Holocene climate beyond the major changes, and especially seasonality, are rare in Europe, and are nearly completely absent in Germany. The present study tries to reconstruct changes of seasonality from evidence of annual algal successions within the framework of well-established pollen zonation and ¹⁴C-AMS dates from terrestrial plants. Laminated Holocene sediments in Lake Jues (10°20.7′ E, 51°39.3′ N, 241 m a.s.l.), located at the SW margin of the Harz Mountains, central Germany, were studied for sediment characteristics, pollen, diatoms and coccal green algae. An age model is based on 21 calibrated AMS radiocarbon dates from terrestrial plants. The sedimentary record covers the entire Holocene period. Trophic status and circulation/stagnation patterns of the lake were inferred from algal assemblages, the subannual structure of varves and the physico-chemical properties of the sediment. During the Holocene, mixing conditions alternated between di-, oligo- and meromictic depending on length and variability of spring and fall periods, and the stability of winter and summer weather. The trophic state was controlled by nutrient input, circulation patterns and the temperature-dependent rates of organic production and mineralization. Climate shifts, mainly in phase with those recorded from other European regions, are inferred from changing limnological conditions and terrestrial vegetation. Significant changes occurred at 11,600 cal. yr. BP (Preboreal warming), between 10,600 and 10,100 cal. yr. BP (Boreal cooling), and between 8,400 and 4,550 cal. yr. BP (warm and dry interval of the Atlantic). Since 4,550 cal. yr. BP the climate became gradually cooler, wetter and more oceanic. This trend was interrupted by warmer and dryer phases between 3,440 and 2,850 cal. yr. BP and, likely, between 2,500 and 2,250 cal. yr. BP.     

Holocene environmental changes and development of Figurnoye Lake in the southern Bunger Hills, East Antarctica

The lithology, radiocarbon chronology, granulometry, geochemistry and distribution of diatoms were investigated in three sediment cores from fresh-water Figurnoye Lake in the southern Bunger Hills, East Antarctica. Our paleolimnological data provide a record of Holocene environmental changes for this region. In the early Holocene (prior to 9.0 ± 0.5 kyr BP), warm climate conditions caused intensive melting of either the floating glacier ice mass or glaciers in the immediate lake surroundings, leading to the accumulation of terrigenous clastic sediments and limiting biogenic production in the lake. From ca. 9.0 ± 0.5 to 5.5 ± 0.5 kyr BP, highly biogenic sediments dominated by benthic mosses formed, indicating more distal glaciers or snowfields. A relatively cold and dry climate during this period caused weaker lake-water circulation and, likely, occurrence of lake ice conditions were more severe than present. The distribution of marine diatoms in the cores shows that, sometime between 8 and 5 kyr BP, limited amounts of marine water episodically penetrated to the lake, requiring a relative sea-level rise exceeding 10–11 m. During the last ca. 5.5 ± 0.5 kyr BP, sedimentation of mainly biogenic matter with a dominance of laminated microbial mats occurred in the lake under warm climatic conditions, interrupted by relative coolings: the first one around 2 kyr BP and then shortly before recent time. Between ca. 5.5 and 4 kyr BP, the drainage of numerous ice-dammed lakes took place in the southern Bunger Hills and, as a result, drier landscapes have existed here from about 4 kyr BP.     

Holocene environmental change at Lake Njulla (999 m a.s.l.), northern Sweden: a comparison with four small nearby lakes alongan altitudinal gradient

We assess Holocene environmental change at alpine Lake Njulla(68°22N, 18°42E, 999 m a.s.l.) innorthernmost Sweden using sedimentary remains of chironomid head capsules anddiatoms. We apply regional calibration sets to quantitatively reconstruct meanJuly air temperature (using chironomids and diatoms) and lake-water pH(using diatoms). Both chironomids and diatoms infer highest temperatures(1.7–2.3°C above present-day estimates, includinga correction for glacio-isostatic land up-lift by0.6°C) during the early Holocene (c.9,500–8,500 cal. yrs BP). Diatoms suggest a decreasing lake-waterpH trend (c. 0.6 pH units) since the early Holocene. Usingdetrended canonical correspondence analysis (DCCA), we compare the Holocenedevelopment of diatom communities in Lake Njulla with four other nearby lakes(Lake 850, Lake Tibetanus, Vuoskkujávri, Vuolep Njakajaure) locatedalong an altitudinal gradient. All five lakes show similar initial DCCA scoresafter deglaciation, suggesting that similar environmental processes such ashigh erosion rates and low light availability associated with high summertemperature appear to have regulated the diatom community, favouring highabundances of Fragilaria species. Subsequently, the diatomassemblages develop in a directional manner, but timing and scale ofdevelopment differ substantially between lakes. This is attributed primarily todifferences in the local geology, which is controlling the lake-waterpH. Imposed on the basic geological setting, site-specific processessuch as vegetation development, climate, hydrological setting andin-lake processes appear to control lake development in northernSweden.     

Late Glacial and Holocene environmental history of the Pirin Mountains (SW Bulgaria): a paleolimnological study of Lake Dalgoto (2310 m)

Diatoms, Cladocera, and chironomids preserved in the sediments of Lake Dalgoto were studied to reconstruct the history of the lake ecosystem in the context of the vegetation history as represented by the pollen stratigraphy. Younger Dryas silty sediments at the base of the core are characterized by low diversity of aquatic organisms. The transition to the Holocene is indicated by a sharp change from silt to clay-gyttja. The migration and expansion of trees at lower elevations between 10200 and 8500 ¹⁴C-yr BP, along with higher diversities and concentrations of aquatic organisms and the decreased proportion of north-alpine diatoms, point to rapidly rising summer temperatures. After 6500 ¹⁴C-yr BP the expansion of Pinus mugo in the catchment coincides with signs of natural eutrophication as recorded by an increase of planktonic diatoms. In the late Holocene (4000–0 ¹⁴C-yr BP) Pinus peuce and Abies are reduced and Picea expands. Cereal grains and disturbance indicators suggest late-Holocene human modification of the vegetation.     

Holocene development and anthropogenic disturbance of a shallow lake system in Central Ireland recorded by diatoms

Three cores from two connected lakes in Central Ireland (Lough Kinale and Derragh Lough) were investigated using diatom analysis to establish the Holocene development of the lacustrine system, any local variations within the lakes and any anthropogenic influences. The study area was situated in a lowland location and the lakes were shallow, unstratified and interconnected. Litho-and bio-stratigraphical analyses of the lake cores and deposits beneath a mire separating the two lakes showed the changing spatial configuration of the lake system in the early Holocene and the separation of the initial lake into three basins (cf. lacustrine cells) and finally into two interlinked lakes. The evolution of the lake system is conceptualised as the development of distinct lacustrine cells, and its sediments have recorded changes in the physical (geography, depth and sedimentation) and chemical (water chemistry) properties of the lakes inferred through diatom analyses. The longest sequence, from the early Holocene, records fluctuating lake levels and these are correlated with geomorphological mapping and surveying of palaeoshorelines. The diatom assemblages of the upper 2 m of the three cores, covering approximately the last 2000–3000 radiocarbon years show considerable difference in trophic status and life-form categories. This is related to the location of the cores in the lake and also the distance from human settlement with particular reference to proximity to crannog (artificial island) construction and use. The most central core from the deepest part of Lough Kinale has the least representation of the human settlement and agricultural activity in the catchment and on the fringes of the lake, whereas the core taken from the edge of a crannog is able to identify when construction and use of the crannog occurred. The local nature of the palaeoecological response to human activity due to incomplete water mixing has the advantage of allowing the lake sediment cores to be used to determine spatially discrete settlement patterns.     

安徽巢湖全新世湖泊沉积物磁化率与粒度组合的变化特征及其环境意义

通过对获取的巢湖湖泊沉积岩芯的磁化率与粒度组合特征的分析,结合孢粉及相邻其它区域的环境考古资料,得出该岩芯柱样所反映的环境变化信息。结果表明:(1)巢湖湖泊沉积物磁化率曲线在117 cm以下总体上比较平稳而略有下降,117 cm以上人类活动所导致的侵蚀作用加剧使得磁化率值异常升高;(2)本岩芯柱样117 cm以下样品的磁化率强度与粘土的百分比含量呈正相关,而与粉砂组分的百分比含量成负相关;(3)根据磁化率与粒度组合变化特征,结合孢粉分析及全新世以来区域气候变化背景,9 870 Cal a B.P.以来的巢湖流域古气候环境演变可以划分6个不同的时期:9 870~7 000 Cal a B.P.,气候呈温和略干的特点;7 000~4 750 Cal a B.P.,气候温暖湿润;4 750~2 170 Cal a B.P.,流域气候温和干燥,巢湖湖盆局部地区可能出露水面以上;2 170~1 040 Cal a B.P.,气候总体上温和湿润,但是冷暖波动明显;1 040~2 00 Cal a B.P.流域处在温凉稍湿的时期,人类活动逐渐加强;200 Cal a B.P.至今,流域总体上处于相对温暖湿润阶段。     

新疆伊犁河谷风沙沉积晚全新世孢粉记录及气候变化

 通过地处亚洲中部干旱区的新疆伊犁河谷塔克尔莫乎尔沙漠沉积剖面(TKP)73块孢粉样品的鉴定分析,结合光释光(OSL)测年数据,获取了TKP沉积剖面晚全新世(约3.78~0 ka BP)植被变化特征与古气候历史。TKP剖面孢粉资料揭示出该研究区3.7 ka BP以来经历了多次的气候干湿波动,大致以2.2 ka BP为界,分为前后两个时期,前期孢粉总浓度较低,平均仅有5粒·g-1,主体表现为沙漠,气候整体干旱; 后期孢粉总浓度明显增加,平均为85粒·g-1,为荒漠植被,并存在4个相对干湿的变化阶段; 最近0.3 ka BP以来,孢粉总浓度并不十分丰富(33粒·g-1),整体表现变干的趋势。TKP剖面孢粉资料反映的晚全新世干湿波动与其他相邻区域具有较好的可比性,具有区域一致性特征。在小冰期时TKP剖面表现为冷湿的气候特征,有可能是受到中高纬度北大西洋气候变化的影响。     

Late holocene level fluctuations of the Lake Ilay in Jura,France: sediment and mollusc evidence and climatic implications

The level fluctuations of Lake Ilay, Jura (France) during the last three millennia are reconstructed from sedimentological and malacological analyses of a core that is well-dated by tree-ring, radiocarbon and pollen datings. Changes in sediment facies, in carbonate concretion assemblages and in mollusc assemblages highlight a major lowering phase atc. 1550 BP and minor lowering phases atc. 2800 BP and shortly before AD 1394. Rises in lake level developed during the early Subatlantic and betweenc. 1500 and 1000 BP. These data are in good agreement with other proxy data from higher European and American latitudes. These correlations support the climatic origin of the level fluctuations of the Lake Ilay during the late Holocene. They suggest that the mediaeval climatic optimum is centred rather in the early than the late Middle Age.     

Diatoms as indicators of climatic and limnological change in Swedish Lapland: a 100-lake calibration set and its validation for paleoecological reconstructions

This study investigated the distribution of subfossil diatom assemblages in surficial sediments of 100 lakes along steep ecological and climatic gradients in northernmost Sweden (Abisko region, 67.07° N to 68.48° N latitude, 17.67° E to 23.52° E longitude) to develop and cross-validate transfer functions for paleoenvironmental reconstruction. Of 19 environmental variables determined for each site, 15 were included in the statistical analysis. Lake-water pH (8.0%), sedimentary loss-on-ignition (LOI, 5.9% and estimated mean July air temperature (July T, 4.8%) explained the greatest amounts of variation in the distribution of diatom taxa among the 100 lakes. Temperature and pH optima and tolerances were calculated for abundant taxa. Transfer functions, based on WA-PLS (weighted averaging partial least squares), were developed for pH (r² = 0.77, root-mean-square-error of prediction (RMSEP) = 0.19 pH units, maximum bias = 0.31, as assessed by leave-one-out cross-validation) based on 99 lakes and for July T (r² = 0.75, RMSEP = 0.96 °C, max. bias = 1.37 °C) based on the full 100 lake set. We subsequently assessed the ability of the diatom transfer functions to estimate lake-water pH and July T using a form of independent cross-validation. To do this, the 100-lake set was divided in two subsets. An 85-lake training-set (based on single limnological measurements) was used to develop transfer functions with similar performance as those based on the full 100 lakes, and a 15-lake test-set (with 2 years of monthly limnological measurements throughout the ice-free seasons) was used to test the transfer functions developed from the 85-lake training-set. Results from the intra-set cross-validation exercise demonstrated that lake-specific prediction errors (RMSEP) for the 15-lake test-set corresponded closely with the median measured values (pH) and the estimations based on spatial interpolations of data from weather stations (July T). The prediction errors associated with diatom inferences were usually within the range of seasonal and interannual variability. Overall, our results confirm that diatoms can provide reliable and robust estimates of lake-water pH and July T, that WA-PLS is a robust calibration method and that long-term environmental data are needed for further improvement of paleolimnological transfer functions.     

华南海岸沙丘岩形成与全新世环境变化的关系

海岸沙丘岩是热带亚热带地区由碳酸盐胶结的海岸风成堆积,其成岩过程的各个阶段需要特定的水热和地貌条件。对华南海岸沙丘岩的形成年代、堆积高度、出露地点进行统计分析,将其特征与全新世环境变化事件作对比, 结果显示华南沿海沙丘岩的形成过程与全新世气候变化及海平面变化等事件有很好的对应关系, 能很好地解释我国沙丘岩研究中一些尚未解决的问题：华南沿海缺少5000a BP以前沙丘岩是因为当时的沙丘岩形成于低海面,后来因海面上升而被淹没;3000a BP前后海岸风沙大规模堆积是大暖期结束后气温下降的结果;华南沿海沙丘岩的胶结主要发生在中世纪暖期;华南沿海缺少年代小于1000aBP沙丘岩是因为近千年来气候条件下,不适合沙丘岩的胶结。     

Holocene sedimentation in Lake Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada: implications of compositional and textural variations

Two seismic facies were recognized in the sedimentary sequence overlying acoustic basement in Lake Winnipeg. The upper facies, which overlies a regional unconformity, is termed the Lake Winnipeg Sequence. Based on the seismostratigraphy, lithostratigraphy, and radiocarbon dates of approximately 4000 and 7000 yr BP from material collected directly over the unconformity in the southern and northern parts of the lake, respectively, this facies has been interpreted as representing Holocene sedimentation. Results of compositional and textural analyses of the Holocene sediment (Winnipeg sediment) from thirteen long (>2 m) cores indicate a transgressional sequence throughout the basin. In the South Basin, the generally fining upward sequence is characterized at the base by silt-sized detrital carbonate minerals, quartz and feldspar which decrease in concentration upward. In this basin, the high carbonate content and V/Al and Zn/Al ratios are indicative of a Paleozoic and Cretaceous provenance for sediment derived from glacial deposits through shoreline erosion and fluvial transport, via the Red River. Sedimentation in the central part of the lake and the North Basin is attributed to shoreline erosion of sand and gravel beaches. Consequently, the texture of these sediments is generally coarser than in the South Basin, and the composition primarily reflects a Paleozoic and Precambrian provenance. The basin-wide decrease in Ca, total carbonate minerals, dolomite and calcite concentrations upward in the cores is reflected by a decrease in the detrital carbonate component in all but the most northern cores. Other basin-wide trends show an upward increase in organic content in all cores. An increase in grain size near the top of most cores suggests a major, basin-wide change in sedimentation within the last, approximately 900 years in the South Basin.     

花海古湖泊外源碎屑矿物含量揭示的河西走廊早、中全新世降水变化

花海地区位于河西走廊的西段,在全新世早期和中期亚洲季风增强时,该区域降水是否很好地响应亚洲季风的变化,以及季风的水汽输送是否会影响到该区域是仍需继续探讨的问题.本文通过对花海古湖泊沉积物样品的矿物测定,分析了花海古湖泊早、中全新世湖相沉积阶段中外源碎屑矿物含量的变化,并以此重建了该区域早全新世(10.47～8.87 cal ka BP)和中全新世(8.87～5.5 cal ka BP)的降水变化.结果显示,早全新世时期花海湖泊外源碎屑矿物含量高于中全新世时期,表明了该区域早全新世时期的降水高于中全新世时期,反映了该区域早、中全新世千年尺度的降水变化响应了印度季风的强弱变化,降水量受到了印度季风强度的影响.在全新世中期,由于西风环流的增强,花海地区水汽输送可能受到了印度季风和西风环流的双重影响.但全新世最湿润期出现在中全新世,与早全新世降水强度高于中全新世的结果并不一致.这种差异可能主要是由于中全新世时期较低的湖面蒸发所造成的.     

Integration of reflection seismic and sediment grain-size data from Lake Khubsugul (Northern Mongolia): a reply to Prokopenko and Kendall

Prokopenko and Kendall (J Paleolimnol doi:, 2008) criticise the work presented in Fedotov et al. (J Paleolimnol 39:335–348, 2008), and instead propose an alternative interpretation for the grain-size evolution recorded in the KDP-01 core, retrieved from the central part of Lake Khubsugul. Their interpretation is based (i) on a seismic-stratigraphic re-interpretation of sparker seismic profile khub012 (which they copied from Fedotov et al. (EOS Trans 87:246–250, 2006)), (ii) on the presupposition that changes in lake level are the dominant control on facies distribution in Lake Khubsugul, and (iii) on the invalidation of our age-depth model. In this reply to their comment, we demonstrate that they interpreted seismic artefacts and geometries caused by changes in profile orientation as true stratigraphic features and that the lake-level reconstruction they derive from this interpretation is therefore incorrect. We also demonstrate that their grain-size predictions, which they consider to be predominantly driven by changes in lake level, are inconsistent with the measured sulphate concentration, which is a demonstrated proxy of lake level in Lake Khubsugul, and with the measured grain-size record. Finally, we point out that even if there would be a problem with the age-depth model, this problem would not affect the part of the sedimentary sequence discussed in Fedotov et al. (J Paleolimnol 39:335–348, 2008).