Land use,soil erosion,and sediment yield at Pinto Lake,California: comparison of a simplified USLE model with the lake sediment record

Quantitative interpretation of past land use using palaeolimnological records of sediment yield requires an appropriate soil erosion model. This paper describes the application of a simplified USLE model, comparing the predicted sediment yield with the lake sediment record at Pinto Lake (Central Coast, California). Our principal finding is that simplified USLE prediction, without correction for sediment transport capacity, accurately predicts fine sediment yield. Because the fine component of the soil is delivered far more efficiently than the coarse component, this and related soil erosion models can more readily be applied to the interpretation of palaeolimnological records than to estimation of total sediment yield, for which reliable estimation of hillslope and fluvial sediment storage are more important. The focus on fine sediment also means that the model output is optimal for assessing past ecological impacts of soil erosion on stream water turbidity and particulate transport of pollutants and nutrients.     

A late Holocene record of land-use history,soil erosion,lake trophy and lake-level fluctuations at Bjäresjösjön (south Sweden)

Land-use history, soil erosion, lake trophy and lake-level fluctuations during the last 3000 years were reconstructed through a multidisciplinary palaeolimnological study (pollen, plant macrofossils, diatoms, physical and chemical analysis, magnetic measurements and radiometric methods) of a small eutrophic lake in southern Sweden (Bjäresjösjön, Scania). There are striking responses in diatom, chemical, sediment yield and magnetic records to land-use changes documented by pollen analysis or historical sources, and to lake-level changes identified from sedimentary changes. Our multidisciplinary approach assists interpretation of the processes controlling long-term changes and separation of the effects of different factors (land-use changes, lake-level fluctuations) on individual biostratigraphical records. Climate has controlled processes in the lake indirectly, through lake-level fluctuations, from the Late Bronze Age to the Viking Age (700 BC-AD 800). Since the Viking Age, land-use controlled most of the changes observed in the lake's development and soil erosion processes. Major changes in lake development occurred during the last 200 years, due to a drastic increase in soil erosion and water eutrophication during a period of agricultural modernization.     

Basis for Paleoenvironmental Interpretation of Magnetic Properties of Sediment from Upper Klamath Lake (Oregon): Effects of Weathering and Mineralogical Sorting

Studies of magnetic properties enable reconstruction of environmental conditions that affected magnetic minerals incorporated in sediments from Upper Klamath Lake. Analyses of stream sediment samples from throughout the catchment of Upper Klamath Lake show that alteration of Fe-oxide minerals during subaerial chemical weathering of basic volcanic rocks has significantly changed magnetic properties of surficial deposits. Titanomagnetite, which is abundant both as phenocrysts and as microcrystals in fresh volcanic rocks, is progressively destroyed during weathering. Because fine-grained magnetite is readily altered due to large surface-to-volume ratios, weathering causes an increase in average magnetic grain size as well as reduction in the quantity of titanomagnetite both absolutely and relative to hematite. Hydrodynamic mineralogical sorting also produces differences in magnetic properties among rock and mineral grains of differing sizes. Importantly, removal of coarse silicate and Fe-oxide grains by sorting concentrated extremely fine-grained magnetite in the resulting sediment. The effects of weathering and sorting of minerals cannot be completely separated. These processes combine to produce the magnetic properties of a non-glacial lithic component of Upper Klamath Lake sediments, which is characterized by relatively low magnetite content and coarse magnetic grain size. Hydrodynamic sorting alone causes significant differences between the magnetic properties of glacial flour in lake sediments and of fresh volcanic rocks in the catchment. In comparison to source volcanic rocks, glacial flour in the lake sediment is highly enriched in extremely fine-grained magnetite.     

QUARTZ WEATHERING IN FREEZE–THAW CYCLES: EXPERIMENT AND APPLICATION TO THE EL'GYGYTGYN CRATER LAKE RECORD FOR TRACING SIBERIAN PERMAFROST HISTORY

The object of this study is to test the assumption that cryogenic weathering (here understood as in‐situ disintegration of rock under cold‐climate conditions including ice as a weathering agent) preferentially breaks up quartz grains. We apply the results of laboratory tests to a Quaternary sediment record. The combination of silt production, relative quartz enrichment in the silt fraction, and quartz grain micromorphology is traced in a multi‐100‐kyr lake sediment archive as indicator data for cryogenic weathering. Constant cryogenic weathering conditions are inferred for at least the last 220 000 years from a lake sediment core of El'gygytgyn Crater, northeast Russia. This is the longest continuous terrestrial archive currently known for the continental Arctic. Quartz enrichment in the fines evolves from seasonal freeze–thaw weathering as demonstrated in laboratory testing where over 100 freeze and thaw cycles crack quartz grains preferentially over feldspar. Microscopic grain features demonstrate that freeze–thaw cycling probably disrupts quartz grains along mineral impurities such as bubble trails, gas–liquid inclusions, or mineralogical sub‐grain boundaries. Single‐grain micromorphology (e.g. angular outlines, sharp edges, microcracks, brittle surfaces) illustrates how quartz becomes fragmented due to cryogenic cracking of the grains. The single‐grain features stemming from the weathering dynamics are preserved even after a grain is transported off site (i.e. in mobile slope material, in seasonal river run‐off, into a lake basin) and may serve as first‐order proxy data for permafrost conditions in Quaternary records.     

A mineral magnetic and scaled-chrysophyte paleolimnological study of two northeastern Pennsylvania lakes: records of fly ash deposition, land-use change, and paleorainfall variation

A combined mineral magnetic and scaled chrysophyte study of lake sediments from Lake Lacawac and Lake Giles in northeastern Pennsylvania was conducted to determine the effects of land-use and sediment source changes on the variation of pH, conductivity, and alkalinity inferred from biotic changes. Ten 30–40 cm long gravity cores were collected from Lake Lacawac and three from Lake Giles. Isothermal remanent magnetizations (IRMs) were given to the lake sediments in a 1.3 T magnetic field to measure magnetic mineral concentration variations. IRM acquisition experiments were conducted to identify magnetic mineralogy. The bedrock, soils and a peat bog on the shores of Lake Lacawac were also sampled for magnetic analysis to determine possible lake sediment sources. The top 10 cm of sediment collected from Lakes Lacawac and Giles was two to four times more magnetic than deeper sediment. ²¹⁰Pb dating suggests that this intensity increase commenced circa 1900. SEM images of magnetic extracts from the highly magnetic sediments indicates the presence of magnetic fly ash microspheres from fossil fuel burning electric power generation plants. The similarity in magnetic coercivity in the top 8 cm lake sediments and in the peat bog supports an atmospheric source for some of the magnetic minerals in the youngest lake sediments. The highly magnetic sediments also contain an antiferromagnetic mineral in two cores closest to Lake Lacawacs southeastern shore. This magnetic mineral is only present deep in the soil profile and would suggest erosion and significant land-use changes in the Lacawac watershed as another cause for the high magnetic intensities (concentrations) in the top 10 cm of the lake sediments. The most significant changes in the scaled chrysophyte flora occurred immediately above the 10 cm level and were used to infer a doubling of the specific conductivity between circa 1910 and 1929. These variations also support land-use changes in the Lacawac catchment at this time. A similar shift in the scaled chrysophte flora was not observed in the top of Lake Giles, however, distinct changes were found in the deeper sections of the core coupled with a smaller peak in magnetic concentration. Fourier analysis of the ²¹⁰Pb-dated lake sediment magnetics indicates the presence of a 50 year period, low amplitude variation in the Lake Lacawac, Lake Giles, and Lake Waynewood (Lott et al., 1994) magnetic concentration records. After removal of the land-use/fly ash magnetic concentration peak by Gaussian filtering, the 50 year variation correlates strongly from lake to lake even though the lakes are in different watersheds separated by up to 30 km. When this magnetic variation is compared with Gaussian-filtered rainfall variations observed in New York City and Philadelphia over the past 120–250 years there is a strong correlation suggesting that magnetic concentration variations can record regional rainfall variations with an approximately 50 year period. This result indicates that magnetics could be used to document regional variations in climatic change.     

Soil evolution and subalpine ecosystem changes in the French Alps inferred from geochemical analysis of lacustrine sediments

This study aimed to reconstruct the history of soil development, ecosystem changes and associated erosional processes in a small mountain lacustrine basin at the decennial to millennial scale. Geochemical proxies of soil evolution were analysed in the Holocene lacustrine sediments and peats from Thyl Lake, Maurienne Valley, French Alps. Podzolization and chemical weathering processes were assessed using secondary Al- and Fe-bearing phases together with major and Rare Earth Elements (REE). The resulting proxy records, spanning ca. 4,400 years between 8.6 and 4.2 cal ka BP, indicate that progressive pedogenesis occurred after deglaciation in a relatively stable subalpine ecosystem. As shown by the associated increase in Al- and Fe-bearing phases and some REE fractions, the establishment of a mixed cembra pine ecosystem from ca. 7.2–6.5 ka BP was associated with enhanced podzolisation processes in the catchment. The progressive soil development was followed by a rapid transformation of the local environment and plant cover (the open waters of the lake were replaced by a confined peat environment) together with changes in forest fire regimes from ca. 6.8 ka BP. Depleted REE patterns, associated with low contents of secondary Al and Fe, suggest a decrease in chemical weathering and podzolization in the catchment at that time, possibly associated with local intensification of weathering and drainage processes in a relatively acidic peat environment. The higher variability of cembra pine and the increased abundance of sedge and other herbaceous plant remains in the lake sediment indicate semi-open vegetation environments from 5.7 cal ka BP onwards. Whereas fire events and plant cover appear to be significantly related, the soil processes seem primarily linked to vegetation composition, and secondarily to changes in fire regime.     

A model for the retrieval of suspended sediment concentrations in Taihu Lake from TM images

A study was conducted in the Taihu Lake with the aim of deriving a model for the retrieval of suspended sediment (SS) concentrations from Landsat TM images and in situ sampled data. The correlation between suspended sediment concentrations of lake and the reflectance obtained from the TM images is significant. By TM images and in situ sampled data in summer and winter, we obtained a comparative uniform model for the retrieval of suspended sediment concentrations in the Taihu Lake, that is lnSS = a*(R3/R1) + b, where lnSS is the natural logarithm of the suspended sediment concentration, R1 and R3 are the reflectance coincident with the 1st band and the 3rd band in TM images, a and b are the regression coefficients. Furthermore, we analysed the errors particularly to make sure the model is valid. The model is accurate to within 0.33(RMSE), suggesting that this model may be applicable to predict suspended sediment in the Taihu Lake from TM image throughout the year.     

基于TM影像的太湖悬浮物反演模型

1 Introduction Suspended sediment (SS) is the non-dissolved matter in water which reflects the physical and chemical property of water. Suspended sediment plays an important role in water quality management, which influences the total primary productivity…     

腾格里沙漠昂格尔图湖记录的988 AD以来的古气候变化

通过对腾格里沙漠东南部昂格尔图湖岩芯AGE15A的粒度、碳酸盐的百分含量和主要化学元素等多项沉积学气候代用指标及精确定年的综合分析,重建了该区域988 AD以来的古气候变化序列。结果表明：988 AD以来的研究区的气候环境的演化过程与我国西北西风区古气候变化基本一致,呈现"冷湿-暖干"交替变化的特征,但在时间上存在一定的延迟。具体表现为：988~1383 AD,昂格尔图湖由洼地发育成小型湖泊,化学风化作用弱,湖区气候环境整体偏冷湿,期间出现几次暖波动;1383~1560 AD,研究区处在中世纪暖期,为温暖、干旱的气候特征,此时湖泊扩张,湖中水生植物生长茂盛,呼吸作用增强,造成大量的碳酸盐沉淀,最高值达到8.16%;1560~1700 AD,致使气候在昂格尔图湖形成之后出现最寒冷的时期,降水增加,气候湿冷,此时段与小冰期最盛期相对应;1700 AD之后,温度开始上升,气候回暖,在1900 AD左右达到最甚,此时沉积物中碳酸盐的百分含量也达到最大值,为10.15%,此期间湖泊继续扩张,出现几次气候冷波动。基于我国古代文献重建的历史时期气候变化基本不包括沙漠地区,所以本文利用湖相沉积记录来反演腾格里沙漠昂格尔图湖历史时期的气候环境演变,对中国沙漠研究有着重要参考价值,同时也为中国西北历史时期的气候重建提供科学依据。     

Climatic and environmental change in Yanchi Lake, Northwest China since the Late Glacial: A comprehensive analysis of lake sediments

Modern climate research has shown that the Asian summer monsoon water vapor transport is limited to the eastern part of the Qilian Mountains. On the Holocene millennial-scale, whether the northwest boundary of the summer monsoon varies according to climate change is a key scientific issue. Yanchi Lake is located in the northern Qilian Mountains and the middle of the Hexi Corridor, where the modern climate is less affected by the Asian summer monsoon. It is a key research area for examining the long-term variations of the Asian summer monsoon. Paleoclimatic data, including AMS ^14C dates of pollen concentrates and bulk organic carbon, lithology, grain-size, mineral composition and geochemical proxies were acquired from sediments of Yanchi Lake. The chronological results show that the lower part of the lacustrine section is formed mainly in the Late Glacial and early Holocene period, while the proxies＇ data indicate the lake expansion is associated with high content of mineral salts. The middle part of this section is formed during the transitional period of the early and middle Holocene. Affected by the reworking effect, the pollen concentrates AMS^14C dates from the middle part of the section are generally older than those from the lower part. Since the mid-Holocene, Yanchi Lake retreated significantly and the deposition rate dropped obvi- ously. The Yanchi Lake record is consistent with the Late Glacial and Holocene lake records in the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau and the climatic records in typical monsoon domain, which indicate the lake expansion and the strong Asian summer monsoon during the Late Glacial and early Holocene. The long-term monsoonal pattern is different from the lake evolution in Central Asia on the Holocene millennial-scale. This study proves the monsoon impacts on the northwestern margin of the summer monsoon, and also proves the fact that the northern boundary of the summer monsoon moves according to millennial-scale climate change.     

Palaeovariations in the East-Asian Monsoon Regime Geochemically Recorded in Varved Sediments of Lake Sihailongwan (Northeast China, Jilin Province). Part 1: Hydrological Conditions and Dust Flux

The varved sediments of the dimictic Lake Sihailongwan (Long Gang mountain area, Jilin Province, Northeast China) represent a palaeoclimatic archive which documents the local precipitation frequency during the summer monsoon, and variations in the aeolian flux of dust with their remote sources in the arid and semi-arid regions of inner Asia. Based on a detailed discussion of sediment genesis in Lake SHL, dust flux rates and palaeohydrological conditions were reconstructed on a decadal scale over the past 220 years. The aeolian influx by dry and wet deposition was quantified and characterised in its chemical composition. Photosynthetic production in the lake is positively correlated with the inflow of nutrient-rich groundwater. The groundwater discharge largely reflects the strength of the summer monsoon. Net accumulation rates for biogenic silica were determined for annually laminated sediments from the centre of the U-shaped lake basin based on sediment data. In a Si-balance model of the modern lake, the depositional flux of biogenic silica could be independently quantified on the base of hydrochemical monitoring data. Comparison of the both estimates allowed to asses the focussing of the particle flux in the lake. Though water retention in Lake SHL is rather high (ca. 30 years), changes in the hydrological conditions are sensitively recorded in the sediments because (i) nutrient-rich groundwater discharges into the productive zone of the lake, (ii) a substantial proportion of the total dissolved Si-inventory of the mixed lake (ca. 30%) is annually consumed by diatom growth, and (3) sediment accumulation is substantially focussed towards the flat bottom of the lake basin. The bulk siliciclastic sediment fraction (ca. 75 wt.%) largely originates from influx of dust of remote provenance. In sediment thin-sections, the dry-deposited dust fraction is microscopically identifiable as seasonal silt layer. Aeolian input by wet-deposition shows a distinctly higher variability than the influx of dust by dry-deposition. As diatom production, wet-deposition of dust is positively correlated with the rainfall during the summer monsoon. The inferred positive correlation between rainfall and dust flux during the summer monsoon implies that dust deposition is determined by the out-wash efficiency of mineral particles for a permanent high atmospheric dust concentration over Northeast China in the last 220 years.     

Paleolimnological investigations of anthropogenic environmental change in Lake Tanganyika: IX. Summary of paleorecords of environmental change and catchment deforestation at Lake Tanganyika and impacts on the Lake Tanganyika ecosystem

Paleorecords from multiple indicators of environmental change provide evidence for the interactions between climate, human alteration of watersheds and lake ecosystem processes at Lake Tanganyika, Africa, a lake renowned for its extraordinary biodiversity, endemism and fisheries. This paper synthesizes geochronology, sedimentology, paleoecology, geochemistry and hydrology studies comparing the history of deltaic deposits from watersheds of various sizes and deforestation disturbance levels along the eastern coast of the lake in Tanzania and Burundi. Intersite differences are related to climate change, differences in the histories of forested vs. deforested watersheds, differences related to regional patterns of deforestation, and differences related to interactions of deforestation and climate effects. Climate change is linked to variations in sediment accumulation rates, charcoal accumulation, lake level and water chemistry, especially during the arid-humid fluctuations of the latter part of the Little Ice Age. Differences between forested and deforested watersheds are manifested by major increases in sediment accumulation rates in the latter (outside the range of climatically driven variability and for the last 40 years unprecedented in comparison with other records from the lake in the late Holocene), differences in eroded sediment and watershed stream composition, and compositional or diversity trends in lake faunal communities related to sediment inundation. Variability in regional patterns of deforestation is illustrated by the timing of transitions from numerous sedimentologic, paleoecologic and geochemical indicators. These data suggest that extensive watershed deforestation occurred as early as the late-18th to the early-19th centuries in the northern part of the Lake Tanganyika catchment, in the late-19th to early-20th centuries in the northern parts of modern-day Tanzania, and in the mid-20th century in central Tanzania. Rapid increases in sediment and charcoal accumulation rates, palynological and lake faunal changes occurred in the early-1960s. We interpret this to be the result of greatly enhanced flushing of sediments in previously deforested watersheds triggered by extraordinary rainfall in 1961/62. Regional differences in deforestation histories can be understood in light of the very different cultural and demographic histories of the northern and central parts of the lake shoreline. Incursion of slaving and ivory caravans from the Indian Ocean to the central coast of Lake Tanganyika by the early-19th century, with their attendant diseases, reduced human and elephant populations and therefore maintained forest cover in this region through the late-19th to early-20th centuries. In contrast, the northeastern portion of the lakeshore did not experience the effects of the caravan trades and consequently experienced high human population densities and widespread deforestation much earlier. These studies demonstrate the importance of paleolimnological data for making informed risk assessments of the potential effects of watershed deforestation on long-term lake ecosystem response in the Lake Tanganyika catchment. Differences in sediment yield and lake floor distribution of that yield, linked to factors such as watershed size, slope, and sediment retention, must be accounted for in management plans for both human occupation of currently forested watersheds and the development of future underwater reserves.     

Advances in Holocene mountain geomorphology inspired by sediment budget methodology

The sediment budget, which links sediment sources to sediment sinks with hydroclimatic and weathering processes mediating the response, is applied to the analysis of sediments in three alpine lakes in British Columbia. We provide two ways of using the sediment budget as an integrating device in the interpretation of mountain geomorphology. These approaches differ in their resolution and ability to budget the major components of the fine-sediment cascade in glaciated environments. Taken together, they provide an integrated index of landscape change over the Holocene. The first example compares the hydroclimatic controls of lake sedimentation for the last 600 years (A.D. 1370–1998) preserved in varved sediments from two of the lake basins. This hydroclimatological approach incorporates contemporary monitoring, air photo analysis, and detailed stratigraphy of sedimentation events within a single varve to infer the timing, sources, and preferred pathways of fine-grained sediments reaching the lake basins. The results indicate that glaciers, hillslope, and channel instability within the major subbasins are the principal sediment sources to the lake basins. Transitory sediment storage of glacially derived sediments within the channels is believed to modulate the episodic and more frequent delivery of sediments from adjacent hillslope and fluvial storage sites and direct routing of glacial rock flour during years of prolonged glacial melt. The second example, relying on the phosphorus geochemistry of sediments in an alpine lake basin, considers the evolution of phosphorus forms (from mineral to occluded and organic fractions) as a function of the soil development, inherent slope instability, and repeated cycles of glaciation and neoglaciation over the Holocene. This geochemical approach demonstrates that both neoglaciation and full glaciation have essentially zeroed the system in such a way that a high proportion of mineral phosphorus remains in the present lake sediments and the bioavailability of phosphorus (a key to ecosystem development) is low. Both examples illustrate the importance of variable sediment sources; the seasonality, frequency, and magnitude of sediment transfers; and the profound influence of ice cover over contemporary, neoglacial and Pleistocene time scales. They also signal the value of including both clastic and dissolved components in the sediment budget.     

Calibrating biogeochemical and physical climate proxies from non-varved lake sediments with meteorological data: methods and case studies

Lake sediment records are underrepresented in comprehensive, quantitative, high-resolution (sub-decadal), multi-proxy climate reconstructions for the past millennium. This is largely a consequence of the difficulty of calibrating biogeochemical lake sediment proxies to meteorological time series (calibration-in-time). Thanks to recent methodological advances, it is now possible. This paper outlines a step-by-step, specifically tailored methodology, with practical suggestions for calibrating and validating biogeochemical proxies from lake sediments to meteorological data. This approach includes: (1) regional climate data; (2) site selection; (3) coring and core selection; (4) core chronology; (5) data acquisition; and (6) data analysis and statistical methods. We present three case studies that used non-varved lake sediments from remote areas in the Central Chilean Andes, where little a priori information was available on the local climate and lakes, or their responses to climate variability. These case studies illustrate the potential value and application of a calibration-in-time approach to non-varved lake sediments for developing quantitative, high-resolution climate reconstructions.     

Recent lake level variations in Lake Haubi, central Tanzania, interpreted from pollen and sediment studies

Variations in pollen assemblages and in physical and chemical composition of a dated sediment record from the small Lake Haubi in north central Tanzania, reveal lake level fluctuations since the late 19th century. Lake Haubi changed from a seasonally inundated swamp to a lake in the beginning of the 20th century. With the exception of 1942-44, when it dried out completely, it remained water filled until 1994 when it again turned into a swamp. The lake level fluctuations in Lake Haubi are largely in phase with fluctuations of the larger East African lakes levels during the 20th century, and are therefore interpreted as being mainly controlled by regional climatic fluctuations. However, the initial formation of Lake Haubi at the turn of the century was likely due to local catchment specific causes, e.g. changes in land use, as the rapid increase in the water level at this time does not correspond to other lake level records from the region.     

西藏扎布耶盐湖水位波动规律初探

文章探讨扎布耶北湖1991年1月至2003年12月水位变化的季节性波动、长期变化和周期变动的规律。该湖水位的季节性波动在1991~1996年表现为单峰模式,高水位出现于4月,由冰雪与冻土融水补给引起;1997~2003年表现为双峰模式,高水位分别出现在4月和8~9月(雨季),反映近年来气温上升和降水增加的影响。数学模型表明水位波动表现出8.2年的周期,幅度达0.48 m。1991~2003年水位共上升0.25 m,但大多数年份表现出平均0.06~0.08 m/a下降趋势,1998~1999年的水位上涨是水位由单峰模式变为双峰模式转折点。     

Lake Jezero v Ledvici (NW Solvenia) – changes in sediment records over the last two centuries

Lake Jezero v Ledvici (NW Slovenia) is a 14 m deep mountain lake at an elevation of 1860 m, situated on limestone bedrock. It is an oligotrophic, alkaline and hard-water lake with a transparency of about 14 m and has suffered several times over recent centuries from strong earthquakes. In 1996 five sediment cores, between 35 and 45 cm long, were collected from the deepest part of the lake and analysed to reconstruct environmental changes over the last few centuries. The data indicate changes induced by pollution and climate change during the last two centuries similar to those in other European mountain and remote lakes. However, at this site earthquakes have also affected the lake and partly obscure the interpretation of the sediment record. From 1780 to 1890, sediment records show low abundance of diatoms and relatively high abundance of Cladocera. After 1890, the number of diatoms started to increase coinciding with a strong earthquake. From the beginning of the 20th century, concentrations of spheroidal carbonaceous particles (SCP), diatom valves and head capsules of chironomids gradually increased whilst in Cladocera the main difference observed was a change in the proportion of benthic taxa. After 1960, in parallel with a rise in air temperature, a further increase in accumulation rate of diatoms started, but there was a decrease in Cladocera.     

Characteristics of the mineral phase constituents of lacustrine deposits from the Fildes Peninsula of King George Island, Antarctica and their environmental implication

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Hydrogeological investigation of Chappice Lake, southeastern Alberta: Groundwater inputs to a saline basin

Sediment cores from Chappice Lake, a hypersaline, groundwater-fed lake in southeastern Alberta, have been used in previous studies to reconstruct Holocene climate using lake levels as a source for proxy climate data. This assumes that the lake is fed by a shallow groundwater system sensitive to changes in climate. In this study we use the dynamics and chemistry of groundwater entering the lake to test this hypothesis.Groundwater inputs calculated from historical records using a simple water budget were highest during periods when the precipitation deficit was high. Over specific time intervals, the expected relationship between lake volumes and climate were not always found. Feedback loops between lake levels and groundwater input, and time lags within the system are the mechanisms proposed to explain these discrepancies.Field measurements suggest discharge of a local surficial groundwater system. Slug tests reveal a high conductivity system (K = 10-5 m/s) surrounding the lake. Hydraulic heads measured in standpipe, multilevel and minipiezometers installed around Chappice Lake show that the lake is situated in a closed hydraulic head contour. Hydraulic heads and water table elevations show strong annual fluctuations corresponding to seasonal changes in recharge. Horizontal hydraulic gradients measured in areas of groundwater springs indicate a strong horizontal component of flow towards the lake. Vertical hydraulic gradients are low and indicate the upward flow of water consistent with the discharge of a shallow, surfical groundwater system.Groundwater sampled from deposits surrounding Chappice Lake and springs feeding the lake have compositions similar to both shallow surficial aquifers and bedrock aquifers suggesting that the lake may be receiving inputs from both sources. However, evaporation simulations using PHRQPITZ, show that the evaporation of water typical of bedrock aquifers result in a mineral assemblage and brine composition different from that found at Chappice Lake. This suggests that discharge of a regional groundwater system can be eliminated as a dominant source over the lake's history. Evaporation simulations suggest that evaporation of groundwater from shallow surficial deposits can best explain the present mineral assemblage and brine chemistry and were likely the dominant source of water to the lake.Bedrock and shallow surficial groundwater sources have different chemistries and isotopic compositions. In hydrogeological settings such as Chappice Lake where more than one source may contribute to the lake, the relative importance of the different sources may change with changes in climate. If the source water composition to the lake changes, identifying changes in climate or hydrology based on changes in the composition of the lake preserved in sediment core will be made more difficult. This may complicate paleoclimate and paleohydrological reconstructions that rely on mineralogical and isotopic data.     

Paleolimnology and recent environmental change in Lake Baikal: an introduction and overview of interrelated concurrent studies

Recent environmental change research in Lake Baikal is introduced together with an overview of several interrelated papers published concurrently in this issue of Journal of Paleolimnology. Five themes are tackled by analysis of recent Baikal sediment cores, dating, geochemistry, particulate pollutants, magnetism and diatoms. The concurrent papers focus on the first four themes in some detail and summary results of diatom analysis (from Mackay et al., 1998) are given here. Taken together these studies provide a time-space framework for recent environmental change in Lake Baikal not previously available.There are significant shifts in species composition of the endemic planktonic diatom assemblages in uppermost sediments collected from throughout the lake. However, these changes usually precede the sediment record of low level but widespread contamination by industrial products. The most clear sign of industrial contamination is the presence of particles from fossil fuel combustion in sediment post dating the 1930s.Although evidence for widespread biostratigraphic changes by pollution is lacking, radionuclide, diatom, lithostratigraphic and magnetic stratigraphies indicate two main features, (i) it is possible to make stratigraphic correlations within and between basins using recent sediment cores, (ii) that turbidite deposits, from several to tens of cm thick, are frequently encountered in recent sediments.Turbidite deposits occur in ²¹⁰Pb dated and pre-²¹⁰Pb sediment core sections and are undoubtedly a major macro-disturbance feature in many deep water locations in Lake Baikal. If profiles are to be used as direct proxy records of climate variability, then screening of cores for turbidites is a pre-requisite for quality assurance in future paleoenvironmental studies.On-going international research including Swiss, Russian and British joint paleoenvironmental studies on the distribution and biological formation of recent sediments will hopefully lead to better interpretation of Holocene and pre-Holocene sediment records in Lake Baikal.