Morphometric and chemical response of two contrasting lake systems to modern climate change

Observational data on the response of lakes during modern-day periods of abundant precipitation and drought may provide analogs for Holocene stratigraphic records and help elucidate the mechanisms that influence how lakes integrate climate. This study evaluated the impacts of climatic variation during the past 50 years on the morphometry and salinity of two neighboring lake systems in the central U.S. The two lakes were chosen, because paleolimnological reconstructions indicated that they had opposing geochemical responses to climate change at AD1200. This divergence suggested that local differences in hydrological setting had a major impact on the lake response to climate variation. Changes in surface area and volume were derived from aerial photographs and historic measurements of lake conductivity to contemporaneous annual precipitation data, the Palmer Drought Severity Index, and to groundwater table elevation. Hypsographic curves help to illustrate changes in lake surface area to depth. Both lakes showed predictable changes in surface area, volume, and salinity in response to precipitation change, but the magnitude of change in surface area and volume varied between the two lakes, likely because of differences in basin morphometry, but mechanisms remain speculative. These differences in basin size and shape also affected the salinity response over time. In the modern systems, the influence of groundwater on the chemical budgets appears to be limited and does not clarify the differential response of the lakes in the past. Yet, in the past the groundwater connection may have been different in turn changing the way the basins responded to climate. Although this study furthers our understanding of differences in the impacts of climate variations on Moon and Coldwater Lakes during recent times, it still does not clearly reveal why Moon and Coldwater Lake show opposite patterns of salinity change at 1200 A.D.     

Autotrophic response to lake age,conductivity and temperature in two West Greenland lakes

Predicted changes in future climate necessitate a better understanding of climate impacts on lake biota, and the role of within-lake processes in modifying biotic response. Therefore we examined two climate-related variables (lake-water conductivity and GRIP temperatures) and lake ontogeny (lake age), to determine their influence on lake autotrophic communities in two neighbouring closed-basin lakes from West Greenland spanning the past 8,000 years. Using sedimentary pigments as proxies for lake autotrophic communities, we used synchrony and variance partitioning analyses (VPA) to test three specific hypotheses (a) that lake primary production would increase with lake age, (b) that climate would be the dominant process controlling autotrophic communities in these pristine lakes and (c) that the response of autotrophs to conductivity and temperature would vary depending upon the age of the lake. The results supported our first hypothesis, showing that lakes changed significantly with age, exhibiting an increase and decline in production in the first millennium of their existence, followed by a steady increase in production and increasingly frequent abrupt switches between mixed and meromictic states. The highly synchronous detrended response (r = 0.769) of lake autotrophs in the two study lakes, supported our hypothesis that climate was the dominant factor controlling lake autotrophs. However, VPA revealed that our climate-related variables (temperature and conductivity) explained only small amounts of variance alone (<12.9%) because covariance among them hindered efficient partitioning. In support of our third hypothesis, autotrophs responded significantly to temperature and conductivity in interaction with lake age (>50% variance explained) and with each other (>28% variance explained), such that autotrophic response changed as lakes aged. In spite of this, lakes sometimes responded independently, as a result of differences in the relative proportion of benthic to pelagic production and because of differences in lake morphometry. Together these results show that long-term control of lake autotrophs by climate and lake age is modified on shorter timescales by non-linear responses related to within-lake processes, and by the interaction of different climate variables with each other and with lake age.     

Isotopic evolution and climate paleorecords: modeling boundary effects in groundwater-dominated lakes

We used an isotopic mass-balance model to examine how the hydrogeologic setting of lakes influences isotopic response of evaporating lake water to idealized hydroclimatic changes. The model uses a monthly water and isotope balance approach with simplified water-column structure and groundwater exchanges. The framework for comparative simulations is provided by lakes in a region of the Northern Rocky Mountains that display high interlake geochemical variability, thought to be controlled by groundwater hydraulics. Our analysis highlights several isotopic effects of flow between aquifers and lakes, leading to possible divergence of isotopic paleorecords formed under a common climate. Amplitude of isotopic variation resulting from simulated climate forcing was greatly damped when high groundwater fluxes and/or low lake volume resulted in low lake fluid residence time. Differing precipitation and evaporation scenarios that are equivalent in annual fluid balance (P−E) resulted in different isotopic signatures, interpreted as a result of evaporation kinetics. Concentrating low-δ groundwater inflow during spring months raised springtime lake δ values, a counterintuitive result of coincidence between times of high groundwater inflow and the evaporation season. Transient effects of reduced fluid balance caused excursions opposite in sign from eventual steady-state isotopic shifts resulting from enhanced groundwater inflow dominance. Lags in response between climate forcing and isotopic signals were shortened by high groundwater fluxes and resulting short lake residence times. Groundwater-lake exchange exerts control over patterns of lake isotopic response to evaporation through effects on lake residence time, inflow composition, and seasonal timing of inflow and outflow. Sediments from groundwater-linked lakes, often used for paleoenvironmental analysis, should be expected to reflect isotopic complexities of the type shown here. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (doi:) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.     

Lake evolution in a semi-arid montane environment: response to catchment change and hydroclimatic variation

Pollen, geochemical and sedimentological data from Sidi Ali, a montane Moroccan lake, provide a 7000 yr record of changes in climate, catchment vegetation and soil erosion intensity. Diatoms, non-silicious algae, macrophyte fossils and ostracods from the same core record the dynamics of the lake ecosystem. Oxygen isotope and trace-element ratios of benthic ostracods appear to be relatively insensitive to climatic variation in this open lake with low water-residence time, but diatom plankton / periphyton (P/L) ratios show lake-level variations that are probably climate controlled. At least two superimposed processes are recorded, but at different timescales: catchment vegetation and soils show long-term changes due to climate and human impact, whereas P/L ratios suggest century-scale oscillations in lake depth. The timing of changes in algal and macrophyte productivity and carbon cycling within the lake broadly corresponds to changes in terrestrial vegetation, suggesting either that lake nutrient status is linked to catchment vegetation and soils, or that both were influenced by climate. The lack of a sensitive and independent (non-biological) climate proxy makes it more difficult to assess the lake's ecological response to short-term climate variation. Overall, the lake's evolution has been influenced both by catchment-mediated nutrient flux and by changes in water balance, thus having characteristics in common with both temperate and arid zone lakes.     

内蒙古呼伦贝尔草原湖泊变化研究

内蒙古呼伦贝尔地区湖泊数量多,面积大,占内蒙古湖泊总面积的58％.近年来该地区湖泊趋于萎缩,但是已有研究主要关注大型湖泊,缺乏对该地区湖泊整体,尤其是小型湖泊(<1 km2)的研究.通过利用Landsat系列(TM、ETM+、OLI)卫星数据,参照该地区湖泊图集、湖泊名录以及Google Earth高清影像,分析了19...     

Holocene environmental history of thermokarst lakes on Richards Island, Northwest Territories, Canada: Theocamoebians as paleolimnological indicators

Richards Island, Northwest Territories, Canada, is characterized by thermokarst lakes which record Holocene limnological change. This study is the first report of thecamoebian assemblages and continuous annual lake water temperatures from these Arctic lakes. Ecological environments on Richards Island are influenced by a climatic gradient resulting from the contrasting influences of the cold Beaufort Sea to the north and the warm waters of the Mackenzie Delta to the east and west. This climatic gradient in turn influences modern thecamoebian assemblages, and is an indication of the complexity involved in interpreting past conditions from core material in this area.Population abundance and species diversity of thecamoebian assemblages on Richards Island are not significantly different from those reported from temperate and semi-tropical latitudes. However, certain assemblage characteristics, such as large and coarse agglutinated tests, dominance of assemblages by one or two species and low morphological variation are interpreted to be diagnostic of Arctic conditions. Thecamoebian assemblages in core material from the area indicate that the local paleolimnological conditions may have changed within the last 3 ka, and this is unrecorded in previously reported pollen data.Paleoenvironmental interpretations in a permafrost landscape have to take into account morphological instability of thermokarst lakes, which can be the cause of paleolimnological and consequently faunal change. In this area ecosystem development is clearly related to geomorphology and local climatic effects and is not exclusively controlled by regional climate change.     

我国喜马拉雅山区冰湖扩张特征及其气候意义

分析冰湖扩张特征和扩张方式及其气候意义,有利于认识冰川-冰湖-气候三者的变化关系和冰湖溃决灾害危险性程度。基于大比例尺地形图、DEM、ASTER影像等数据,分析近30年来我国喜马拉雅山区不同海拔高度冰湖变化的特征及冰湖-母冰川的相对位置的变化关系,探讨其气候效应。结果显示：(1) 存在冰湖的面积增大是冰湖面积扩张的主要贡献者,占总面积净增量的67%,新增湖的面积占总面积净增量的33%;(2) 不同高度带冰湖面积多呈扩张态势,净增面积在5000~5300 m出现峰值,指示气候变化的垂直差异性;(3) 在2000s 母冰川-冰湖距离为0 的冰湖,数量占扩张冰湖总数的19%,而其冰湖面积增量却占了总面积增量的60%,为冰湖扩张的主体,反映出冰湖与母冰川关系越紧密,气候效应越强烈,冰湖面积增加越显著。     

青藏高原内陆湖泊过去40年变化研究（英文）

Inland lakes and alpine glaciers are important water resources on the Tibetan Plateau. Understanding their variation is crucial for accurate evaluation and prediction of changes in water supply and for retrieval and analysis of climatic information. Data from previous research on 35 alpine lakes on the Tibetan Plateau were used to investigate changes in lake water level and area. In terms of temporal changes, the area of the 35 alpine lakes could be divided into five groups: rising, falling-rising, rising-falling, fluctuating, and falling. In terms of spatial changes, the area of alpine lakes in the Himalayan Mountains, the Karakoram Mountains, and the Qaidam Basin tended to decrease; the area of lakes in the Naqu region and the Kunlun Mountains increased; and the area of lakes in the Hoh Xil region and Qilian Mountains fluctuated. Changes in lake water level and area were correlated with regional changes in climate. Reasons for changes in these lakes on the Tibetan Plateau were analyzed, including precipitation and evaporation from meteorological data, glacier meltwater from the Chinese glacier inventories. Several key problems, e.g. challenges of monitoring water balance, limitations to glacial area detection, uncertainties in detecting lake water-level variations and variable region boundaries of lake change types on the Tibetan Plateau were discussed. This research has most indicative significance to regional climate change.     

Changes in inland lakes on the Tibetan Plateau over the past 40 years

Inland lakes and alpine glaciers are important water resources on the Tibetan Plateau. Understanding their variation is crucial for accurate evaluation and prediction of changes in water supply and for retrieval and analysis of climatic information. Data from previous research on 35 alpine lakes on the Tibetan Plateau were used to investigate changes in lake water level and area. In terms of temporal changes, the area of the 35 alpine lakes could be divided into five groups: rising, falling-rising, rising-falling, fluctuating, and falling. In terms of spatial changes, the area of alpine lakes in the Himalayan Mountains, the Karakoram Mountains, and the Qaidam Basin tended to decrease; the area of lakes in the Naqu region and the Kunlun Mountains increased; and the area of lakes in the Hoh Xil region and Qilian Mountains fluctuated. Changes in lake water level and area were correlated with regional changes in climate. Reasons for changes in these lakes on the Tibetan Plateau were analyzed, including precipitation and evaporation from meteorological data, glacier meltwater from the Chinese glacier inventories. Several key problems, e.g. challenges of monitoring water balance, limitations to glacial area detection, uncertainties in detecting lake water-level variations and variable region boundaries of lake change types on the Tibetan Plateau were discussed. This research has most indicative significance to regional climate change.     

晚更新世以来青海北部的人类活动与湖泊演变

作为高海拔生态环境的青海北部是青藏高原的重要组成部分。晚更新世晚期以来 ,青海北部气候环境一直处于冷暖、干湿波动过程之中 ,湖泊水域也发生了相应的扩张和收缩 ,成为高原人类迁移和发展的自然背景。约 3 0kaB .P .,在晚期智人出现和迁徙的关键时期 ,青海北部开始有了最早的人类活动 ;更新世末—全新世初 ,气候转暖 ,古人类再次来到青海北部 ;进入全新世中期 ,气候暖湿 ,湖水位回升 ,细石器技术变得十分普通 ,青海北部的人类活动渐趋频繁。     

Seasonal ecosystem variability in remote mountain lakes: implications for detecting climatic signals in sediment records

Weather variation and climate fluctuations are the main sources of ecosystem variability in remote mountain lakes. Here we describe the main patterns of seasonal variability in the ecosystems of nine lakes in Europe, and discuss the implications for recording climatic features in their sediments. Despite the diversity in latitude and size, the lakes showed a number of common features. They were ice-covered between 5–9 months, and all but one were dimictic. This particular lake was long and shallow, and wind action episodically mixed the water column throughout the ice-free period. All lakes showed characteristic oxygen depletion during the ice-covered-period, which was greater in the most productive lakes. Two types of lakes were distinguished according to the number of production peaks during the ice-free season. Lakes with longer summer stratification tended to have two productive periods: one at the onset of stratification, and the other during the autumn overturn. Lakes with shorter stratification had a single peak during the ice-free period. All lakes presented deep chlorophyll maxima during summer stratification, and subsurface chlorophyll maxima beneath the ice. Phosphorus limitation was common to all lakes, since nitrogen compounds were significantly more abundant than the requirements for the primary production observed. The major chemical components present in the lakes showed a short but extreme dilution during thawing. Certain lake features may favour the recording of particular climatic fluctuations, for instance: lakes with two distinct productive periods, climatic fluctuations in spring or autumn (e.g., through chrysophycean cysts); lakes with higher oxygen consumption, climatic factors affecting the duration of the ice-cover (e.g., through low-oxygen tolerant chironomids); lakes with higher water retention time; changes in atmospheric deposition (e.g., through carbon or pigment burial); lakes with longer stratification, air temperature changes during summer and autumn (e.g., through all epilimnetic species).     

近三十年青藏高原内流区湖泊岸线形态的时空演变

湖泊岸线形态是描述和定量表达湖泊空间分布特征的重要维度。近年来,受气候暖湿化影响,青藏高原内流区湖泊总体呈现快速扩张趋势,湖泊的动态变化不仅体现在面积、水位、水量等水文参数上,还引起湖泊形态的显著变化。基于多期湖泊分布数据,结合分形和景观生态学理论,构建了湖泊岸线形态特征量化的指标体系,对1990年以来,青藏高原内流区湖泊岸线形态的时空变化特征及其影响因素进行定量分析。结果表明：① 近三十年来青藏高原内流区湖泊的分形维数和岸线发育系数总体呈上升趋势,湖泊的近圆率在此期间呈下降趋势,湖泊长宽比指数则无明显变化。② 青藏高原内流区湖泊岸线形态的总体演变特征受到地质构造的控制,体现出一定空间自相关性,断陷湖区的湖泊岸线形态及其变化要明显复杂于坳陷湖区。区域湖泊岸线的变化幅度大致从东北向西南递减,变化幅度在可可西里地区、羌塘高原中部以及羌塘高原东南部3个区域存在空间自相关性。③ 湖泊岸线形态的变化受岸线周边的地形影响,湖滨地形落差较大的区域,湖泊岸线相对稳定,变化速度较慢。岸线指数的变化量与岸线周边1 km缓冲区内的平均高差存在幂函数关系。④ 该区域湖泊岸线形态的变化和湖泊面积的变化幅度也存在一定相关性,当湖泊处于扩张阶段时,湖泊的分形维数和岸线发育系数总体呈现增加趋势,反之减少。本研究揭示了气候暖湿化背景下青藏高原内流区湖泊岸线形态的变化格局与影响特征,讨论了湖泊岸线形态及其变化格局与湖区的地质构造,气候与水文等多个要素间的关系,丰富了湖泊动态变化研究的视角与方法,为深入理解青藏高原湖泊对气候变化的响应特征,监测湖泊变化对湖盆地貌、水系连通度以及湖滨带生态环境等影响提供了科学参考。     

通过现代观测来检验湖面蒸发对中国干旱、半干旱区湖泊水位变化的影响(英文)

Qinghai Lake and Zhuye Lake, ~400 km apart, are located in the northwest margin of the Asian summer monsoon. Water of these two lakes mostly comes from the middle and eastern parts of the Qilian Mountains. Previous studies show that the Holocene climate changes of the two lakes implied from lake records are different. Whether lake evaporation plays a role in asynchronous Holocene climate changes is important to understand the lake records. In this paper, we used modern observations beside Qinghai Lake and Zhuye Lake to test the impact factors for lake evaporation. Pan evaporation near the two lakes is mainly related to relative humidity, temperature, vapor pressure and sunshine duration. But tem-perature has different impacts to lake evaporation of the two lakes, which can affect Holocene millennial-scale lake level changes. In addition, differences in relative humidity on the millen-nial-scale would be more significant, which also can contribute to asynchronous lake records.     

Late Holocene changes in cyanobacterial community structure in maritime Antarctic lakes

Despite the dominance of cyanobacteria in polar freshwater aquatic ecosystems, little is known about their past biodiversity and response to climate and environmental changes. We explored the use of light microscopy of microfossils, high performance liquid chromatography of the fossil pigment composition and denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis of fossil 16S rRNA genes to study past and present-day differences in cyanobacterial community structure in response to climate changes in two adjacent maritime Antarctic lakes with contrasting depths (4 and 26 m) and light climates. Light microscopy was of limited use because of degradation of cell structures. Fossil cyanobacterial pigment concentrations were below the detection limits of our method in several sediment samples in the deep lake, but abundant and diverse in the sediment core from the shallow pond, probably as a consequence of increased light availability and/or a more diverse and abundant benthic cyanobacterial flora. Total carotenoid and chlorophyll concentrations were highest in both lakes between ca. 2,950 and 1,800 cal yr BP, which coincides with the late Holocene climate optimum recognised elsewhere in maritime Antarctica. Cyanobacterial molecular diversity was higher in the top few centimeters of the sediments in both lakes. In deeper sediments, the taxonomic turnover of cyanobacteria appeared to be relatively small in response to past climate anomalies in both lakes, underscoring the broad tolerance of cyanobacteria to environmental variability. This, however, may in part be explained by the low taxonomic resolution obtained with the relatively conserved 16S rRNA gene and/or the preferential preservation of particular taxa. Our results highlight the potential of fossil DNA in lake sediments to study colonization and succession dynamics of lacustrine cyanobacteria and warrant further investigation of the factors that affect preservation of cyanobacterial DNA.     

Diatom-based models for inferring past water chemistry in western Ugandan crater lakes

Diatom surface sediment samples and corresponding water chemistry were collected from 56 lakes across a natural conductivity gradient in western Uganda (reflecting a regional climatic gradient of effective moisture) to explore factors controlling diatom distribution. Here we develop a regional training set from these crater lakes to test the hypothesis that this approach, by providing more appropriate and closer analogues, can improve the accuracy of palaeo-conductivity reconstructions, and so environmental inferences in these lake systems compared to larger training sets. We compare this output to models based on larger, but geographically and limnologically diverse training sets, using the European Diatom Database Initiative (EDDI) database. The relationships between water chemistry and diatom distributions were explored using canonical correspondence analysis (CCA) and partial CCA. Variance partitioning indicated that conductivity accounted for a significant and independent portion of this variation. A transfer function was developed for conductivity (r _jack ² ?=?0.74). Prediction errors, estimated using jack-knifing, are low for the conductivity model (0.256 log₁₀ units). The resulting model was applied to a sedimentary sequence from Lake Kasenda, western Uganda. Comparison of conductivity reconstructions using the Ugandan crater lake training set and the East Africa training set (EDDI) highlighted a number of differences in the optima of key diatom taxa, which lead to differences in reconstructed values and could lead to misinterpretation of the fossil record. This study highlights issues of how far transfer functions based on continental-scale lake datasets such as the EDDI pan-African models should be used and the benefits that may be obtained from regional training sets.     

Proximity to ice fields and lake depth as modulators of paleoclimate records: a regional study from southwest Yukon,Canada

Pronounced climate warming during the past century has been well documented in high-latitude regions. Nonetheless, considerable heterogeneity exists in northern climate trends. We examined the roles of cryospheric landscape and lake depth in modulating the rate and magnitude of local climate responses through a paleolimnological study of lakes from southwest Yukon, Canada. By sampling lakes at varying distances from the Wrangell-St. Elias ice fields, we hypothesized that, for lakes of similar maximum depth, sites closest to the ice fields would be relatively complacent in terms of their chironomid and diatom assemblage changes over the past ~200 years. This hypothesis is based on the moderating effect of the glaciers on local climate, which would be most pronounced in the lakes nearest to the ice fields. However, given the known ecological differences between deep and shallow lakes, we further predicted that, for a given distance from the ice fields, a sediment record from a shallower lake would show the greatest change in stratigraphic subfossil assemblages. Because of the complicated shape of the ice fields, we applied the longitude for each site (which decreases from west to east) to approximate the proximity of our study lakes to the ice fields. Consistent with our predictions, we observed a space-transgressive pattern in the chironomid assemblage turnover that was associated with their proximity to the ice fields (r = ?0.75, P = 0.034, n = 8) across lakes of similar depth (mean maximum depth ± 1, SE = 18.1 ± 2.6 m). Considering a broader network of lakes that represented a greater range in maximum depth (4.9–29 m), we found that differences in subfossil chironomid assemblages between the modern and ca. AD 1800 sediment layers were strongly related to lake depth (r = ?0.77, P < 0.001, n = 15), but failed to detect a significant relationship with latitude or longitude (i.e. our proxy for proximity to the ice fields). Similarly, our comparative high-resolution analyses of two lakes with distinct lake morphometries, but similar proximities to the ice fields, demonstrated the predicted contrasting pattern: we observed pronounced post-1880 changes in the biotic assemblages in the shallow lake and a muted and delayed response (i.e. ~1970s) in the deeper lake. Our findings confirm that cryospheric landscape features can strongly modulate regional climate. Furthermore, our work shows that investigators need to be conscious of how climate change affects the structure and functioning of lakes of different typologies, which influences the way in which paleoclimate signals are recorded and interpreted.     

2000—2019年新疆大型湖泊湖冰物候时空变化特征

湖冰物候变化特征是全球气候变化过程的重要指示器。通过长时间序列MODIS数据、Landsat数据提取的湖泊数据集,综合分析了2000—2019年新疆大型湖泊湖冰物候的变化特征。结果表明：（1） 近20 a新疆大型湖泊的开始冻结日呈现提前和推迟2种变化趋势,开始冻结日呈现推迟趋势的湖泊分别为博斯腾湖、赛里木湖、艾比湖、吉力湖、乌伦古湖、萨利吉勒干南库勒湖和鲸鱼湖,且大部分湖泊的开始冻结日推迟趋势在0.51~1.53 d·a^-1之间;开始冻结日呈现提前趋势的湖泊有3个,分别为阿牙克库木湖（变化趋势为-1.04 d·a^-1）、阿克赛钦湖（变化趋势为-0.41 d·a^-1）、阿其克库勒湖（-0.31 d·a^-1）。（2） 湖冰完全覆盖期是重要的湖冰参数,湖冰覆盖期的延长或者缩短能够直接表示区域气候变化过程,新疆大部分湖泊湖冰覆盖期表现为缩短趋势,其中分布在新疆中北部的艾比湖、吉力湖和博斯腾湖等湖泊的湖冰覆盖期缩短较为明显,变化趋势分别为-1.76 d·a^-1、-2.13 d·a^-1和-0.81 d·a^-1;冰完全覆盖期延长的湖泊有3个,分别为阿牙克库木湖、阿其克库勒湖和鲸鱼湖,变化趋势分别为3.51 d·a^-1、1.54 d·a^-1和1.37 d·a^-1,这些湖泊均匀分布在昆仑山高原北翼。（3） 新疆大型湖泊湖冰物候变化特征是受其自身条件（湖泊形态因子、湖泊面积等）及气候变化（气温、降水量等）等多种因素共同作用的结果。本研究探讨了气候变化环境下的新疆大型湖泊湖冰物候的冻融趋势及其变化模式,同时应用不同遥感数据和研究方法识别了湖冰,证实了MODIS数据反演湖冰物候的可行性。     

The sensitivity of East African rift lakes to climate fluctuations

Sequences of paleo-shorelines and the deposits of rift lakes are used to reconstruct past climate changes in East Africa. These recorders of hydrological changes in the Rift Valley indicate extreme lake-level variations on the order of tens to hundreds of meters during the last 20,000 years. Lake-balance and climate modeling results, on the other hand, suggest relatively moderate changes in the precipitation-evaporation balance during that time interval. What could cause such a disparity? We investigated the physical characteristics and hydrology of lake basins to resolve this difference. Nine closed-basin lakes, Ziway-Shalla, Awassa, Turkana, Suguta, Baringo-Bogoria, Nakuru-Elmenteita, Naivasha, Magadi-Natron, Manyara, and open-basin Lake Victoria in the eastern branch of the East African Rift System (EARS) were used for this study. We created a classification scheme of lake response to climate based on empirical measures of topography (hypsometric integral) and climate (aridity index). With reference to early Holocene lake levels, we found that lakes in the crest of the Ethiopian and Kenyan domes were most sensitive to recording regional climatic shifts. Their hypsometric values fall between 0.23–0.29, in a graben-shaped basin, and their aridity index is above unity (humid). Of the ten lakes, three lakes in the EARS are sensitive lakes: Naivasha (HI = 0.23, AI = 1.20) in the Kenya Rift, Awassa (HI = 0.23, AI = 1.03) and Ziway-Shalla (HI = 0.23, AI = 1.33) in the Main Ethiopian Rift (Main Ethiopian Rift). Two lakes have the graben shape, but lower aridity indices, and thus Lakes Suguta (HI = 0.29, AI = 0.43) and Nakuru-Elmenteita (HI = 0.30, AI = 0.85) are most sensitive to local climate changes. Though relatively shallow and slightly alkaline today, they fluctuated by four to ten times the modern water depth during the last 20,000 years. Five of the study lakes are pan-shaped and experienced lower magnitudes of lake level change during the same time period. Understanding the sensitivity of these lakes is critical in establishing the timing or synchronicity of regional-scale events or trends and predicting future hydrological variations in the wake of global climate changes.     

A high-resolution sedimentary archive from landslide-dammed Lake Mengda,north-eastern Tibetan Plateau

Lacustrine sediments have been widely used to investigate past climatic and environmental changes on millennial to seasonal time scales. Sedimentary archives of lakes in mountainous regions may also record non-climatic events such as earthquakes. We argue herein that a set of 64 annual laminae couplets reconciles a stratigraphically inconsistent accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) ¹⁴C chronology in a ~4-m-long sediment core from Lake Mengda, in the north-eastern Tibetan Plateau. The laminations suggest the lake was formed by a large landslide, triggered by the 1927 Gulang earthquake (M = 8.0). The lake sediment sequence can be separated into three units based on lithologic, sedimentary, and isotopic characteristics. Starting from the bottom of the sequence, these are: (1) unweathered, coarse, sandy valley-floor deposits or landslide debris that pre-date the lake, (2) landslide-induced, fine-grained soil or reworked landslide debris with a high organic content, and (3) lacustrine sediments with low organic content and laminations. These annual laminations provide a high-resolution record of anthropogenic and environmental changes during the twentieth century, recording enhanced sediment input associated with two phases of construction activities. The high mean sedimentation rates of up to 4.8 mm year^?1 underscore the potential for reconstructing such distinct sediment pulses in remote, forested, and seemingly undisturbed mountain catchments.     

The influence of temperature, moisture, and eolian activity on Holocene lake development in West Greenland

Holocene paleolimnological records (diatoms, organic content, spectrally inferred sediment chlorophyll-a) from three West Greenland lakes (~67°N) situated along a transect from the outer coast to a nunatak at the periphery of the Greenland Ice Sheet are used to explore the nature of regional postglacial lake development and its relationship to Holocene climate evolution. The lakes were deglaciated asynchronously by approximately 4?ka (earliest on the coast) and thus their sediment records document different starting points of Holocene ontogeny, both temporally and paleoclimatically. Despite similar time-transgressive characteristics of the diatom stratigraphies, overarching climatic factors, principally effective moisture, and eolian inputs, govern individual lake development. The transition to Neoglaciation between 5.6 and 4?ka BP marks a shift toward a cooler, moister, windier climate from the aridity and higher temperatures of the mid-Holocene (8?C6?ka BP). A shift toward increased aridity, windiness, and eolian activity is documented in the interior lakes over the last 500?years. These lake records demonstrate the sensitivity of freshwater lakes in arid regions to changes in effective moisture and highlight the role of wind and eolian activity in Arctic lake environments.