Late holocene paleoclimatic and paleobiologic records from sediments of Devils Lake,North Dakota

An 84 cm sediment core collected from the center of Devils Lake, North Dakota, was analyzed at 1-cm intervals for,²¹⁰Pb,¹³⁷Cs, sediment conductivity, the concentrations of, biogenic silica, total organic carbon, carbon to nitrogen ratio, and the carbon and nitrogen isotopic composition of the organic fraction. Variations in²¹⁰Pb activities in the upper 20 centimeters indicate that sediment accumulations rates in Devils Lake are not constant, and that accumulation rates were highest during periods of high lake level. The mean sedimentation accumulation rate was calculated as 0.24 cm^–1 yr. The¹³⁷Cs profile is characterized by near-surface maximum concentrations, possibly the result of redistribution of¹³⁷Cs during salinity excursions.Biogenic silica is strongly correlated to lake level in Devils Lake. Periods of low lake level (characterized by high sediment conductivity) correspond to low biogenic silica concentrations. The trends in biogenic silica are attributed to variations in diatom productivity in the lake and to variations in sediment accumulation rates. Based on biogenic silica content and the composition of organic matter in the sediment (total organic carbon, carbon:nitrogen ratio and the ¹³C and ¹⁵N composition of total organic matter), paleobiologic conditions of Devils Lake during low lake stands were characterized by, (1) decreased primary productivity, (2) decreased input of detrital organic matter, and (3) increased nitrogen availability.During the 350 years of sediment accumulation represented by the 84-cm sediment core Devils Lake has experienced two periods of sustained high lake level; one between about 130 and 170 years ago (1820 to 1860 A.D.) and the second between 270 and 310 years ago (1680 to 1720 A.D.). Devils Lake experienced a period of intense drying about 260 years ago (1720 A.D.).     

Paleohydrological investigation of Infernão Lake, Moji-Guaçcu River watershed, São Paulo, Brazil

A 450 cm sediment core spanning the last 3,500 years was collected from 4.6 m of water in Lake Infernão, located in the floodplain of the Moji-Guaçu River in SE Brazil, to reconstruct the wetland system (river and lake) paleohydrology. A multidisciplinary approach using isotopic (¹³C and ¹⁵N), chemical (C/N ratio and lignin derived phenols) and physical analyses (% water content and density) were used in this study. A coarse sand unit in the lower part of the core (450–417 cm) corresponds to the paleoriver. The rest of the sediment core (dark clay) shows a gradual change from a fluvial to a lacustrine environment. ¹⁴C dates from the lower part of the core (417–200 cm), demonstrate an inversion and narrow span in age (3,000–3,500 yrs B.P.) corresponding to a period of rapid fluvial sedimentation and reworking. The lake seems to have been well established only after 3,000 yrs B.P. The change from a fluvial to a lacustrine environment is inferred from the isotopic and chemical data. Sediment of the fluvial phase is characterized by higher ¹³C values, lower C and N content and a lignin content representative of woody-tissues. Sediment of the lacustrine phase show a gradual decrease in ¹³C values toward the top of the core reflecting the influence of organic carbon derived by phytoplankton and aquatic macrophytes (C₃ plants). The trend to higher C and N content and low C/N ratios also support this interpretation. The lower lignin content indicates increase contributions of non-vascular plants (phytoplankton). Similarly, the slight increase of non-woody tissues (higher C/V ratios) and the predominance of angiosperm plants (high S/V ratios) as organic matter source indicate an increase contribution of aquatic plants during the lacustrine phase. Our data presented here in addition to the geomorphological information and the available paleoclimatic scenario of pollen-inferred analyses for aquatic systems from the southeastern Brazil point to a climatic origin for this fluvial-lacustrine transition at about 3,000 yrs B.P. and to a climatic evolution leading to the present conditions and to a consequently gradual isolation of Lake Infernão from the influence of the Moji-Guaçu River.     

Evidence for Holocene environmental change from C/N ratios, and δ13C and δ15N values in Swan Lake sediments, western Sand Hills, Nebraska

Profiles of percent carbon and nitrogen, carbon/nitrogen (C/N) ratios and stable carbon (¹³C), and nitrogen (¹⁵N) isotopic ratios in organic matter from an 11.6 m core were used to reconstruct environments of deposition in the Swan Lake basin during the past 5300 YBP. The upper 6.5 m consisted of gyttja containing variable amounts of reddish brown-colored fine organic matter and calcium carbonate. It was followed by a 0.5 m sandy silt, which was followed by a 3.6 m reduced layer characterized by large quantities of black organic plant remains, sapropel, and then by another sapropel layer consisting mainly of well-sorted sapropelic sand with relatively low organic matter content. The C- and N-contents in the organic matter in the sediment profile ranged from 0.5 to 23% and from 0.02 to 2%, respectively. Carbon content were positively correlated to both N and clay content while carbon content was negatively correlated to sand content. Two major environmental phases in Swan Lake were apparent from large differences in the C and N data of the sediment organic matter. These include the sapropel (marsh) stage that stretched from approximately 5330 to 3930 YBP, and the following gyttja (open water stage). During the sapropel marsh plants identified in a previous pollen study as cattails and sedges proliferated and produced copious amounts of well-preserved organic matter. C/N ratios, ¹³C values, and ¹⁵N values in the sapropel were significantly different from those that characterized organic matter in the gyttja. During the gyttja ¹³C values indicated that deep primary producers have dominated lake biomass. By utilizing bicarbonate as their C-source, the accumulating biomass became relatively enriched ¹³C values. The presence of high sediment CaCO₃ contents indicated more alkaline and deeper water conditions prevailed during the gyttja. Further refinement of the data suggested that each major phase initially contained an identifiable transition stage. During the sapropelic (initial marsh stage) which occurred before 5330 YBP, sand content gradually decreased as organic matter increased. As reflected by high C/N ratios and slightly enriched ¹³C values, these sands appear to have contained sufficient permeability to promote partial mineralization of accumulated organic-N containing compounds. A short initial gyttja transition period from about 3930–3830 YBP occurred in which the sediment silt content was anomalously high relative that measured in the surrounding layers. The silt content suggests that this turbid transition layer can not be completely explained by sediment mixing via bioturbation. The silts appeared to have been associated with the sharp climate change that resulted in higher water-table conditions during the gyttja stage.     

Late Quaternary palaeolimnology of a tropical marl lake: Wallywash Great Pond,Jamaica

Wallywash Great Pond (17° 57 N, 77° 48 W, 7 m a.s.l.) is the largest perennial lake in Jamaica. It occupies a fault trough within the karstic White Limestone. The Great Pond is a hardwater lake with a pH of 8.2–8.6 and an alkalinity of 3.6–3.9 meq 1^–1. Its chemistry is strongly influenced by the spring discharge from the limestone. The lake water is subject to degassing, evaporation and bicarbonate assimilation by submerged plants and algae, resulting in marl precipitation. A 9.23 m core (WGP2), taken from a water depth of 2.8 m, was analysed for magnetic susceptibility, loss-on-ignition, carbonate content, mole % MgCO₃ in calcite, and stable isotopes in the fine carbonate fraction. The chronology is based on ten¹⁴C and four U/Th dates. Four main sediment types alternate in the core: marl; organic, calcareous mud; organic mud or peat; and earthy, brown, calcareous mud. The marls represent periods of wet/warm climate during sea-level highstands and the organic deposits, shallower, swampy conditions. In contrast, the brown, calcareous muds were laid down when the lake was dry or ephemeral. The last interglacial (120 000- 106 000 yr BP) is represented by three distinct marl units. After a dry interval, stable, wet/warm conditions set in from 106 000 to 93 000 yr BP. A dry/cool climate prevailed between 93 000 and at least 9500 yr BP. Three subsequent cycles of alternating wet and dry conditions culminated in flooding of the basin by the Black River during the late Holocene. These recent events cannot be accurately dated by¹⁴C due to significant and temporally-variable inputs of dead carbon from the springs.     

Paleolimnology of Lake Tanganyika, East Africa, over the past 100 kyr

New sediment core data from a unique slow-sedimentation rate site in Lake Tanganyika contain a much longer and continuous record of limnological response to climate change than have been previously observed in equatorial regions of central Africa. The new core site was first located through an extensive seismic reflection survey over the Kavala Island Ridge (KIR), a sedimented basement high that separates the Kigoma and Kalemie Basins in Lake Tanganyika.Proxy analyses of paleoclimate response carried out on core T97-52V include paleomagnetic and index properties, TOC and isotopic analyses of organic carbon, and diatom and biogenic silica analyses. A robust age model based on 11 radiocarbon (AMS) dates indicates a linear, continuous sedimentation rate nearly an order of magnitude slower here compared to other core sites around the lake. This age model indicates continuous sedimentation over the past 79 k yr, and a basal age in excess of 100 k yr.The results of the proxy analyses for the past 20 k yr are comparable to previous studies focused on that interval in Lake Tanganyika, and show that the lake was about 350 m lower than present at the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM). Repetitive peaks in TOC and corresponding drops in ¹³C over the past 79 k yr indicate periods of high productivity and mixing above the T97-52V core site, probably due to cooler and perhaps windier conditions. From 80 through 58 k yr the ¹³C values are relatively negative (–26 to –28 l) suggesting predominance of algal contributions to bottom sediments at this site during this time. Following this interval there is a shift to higher values of ¹³C, indicating a possible shift to C-4 pathway-dominated grassland-type vegetation in the catchment, and indicating cooler, dryer conditions from 55 k yr through the LGM. Two seismic sequence boundaries are observed at shallow stratigraphic levels in the seismic reflection data, and the upper boundary correlates to a major discontinuity near the base of T97-52V. We interpret these discontinuities to reflect major, prolonged drops in lake level below the core site (393 m), with the lower boundary correlating to marine oxygen isotope Stage 6. This suggests that the previous glacial period was considerably cooler and more arid in the equatorial tropics than was the last glacial period.     

Stable isotope (δ13C and δ15N) signatures of sedimented organic matter as indicators of historic lake trophic state

We explored the use of carbon and nitrogen isotopes (¹³C and ¹⁵N) in sedimented organic matter (OM) as proxy indicators of trophic state change in Florida lakes. Stable isotope data from four ²¹⁰Pb-dated sediment cores were compared stratigraphically with established proxies for historical trophic state (diatom-inferred limnetic total phosphorus, sediment C/N ratio) and indicators of cultural disturbance (sediment total P and ²²⁶Ra activity). Diatom-based limnetic total P inferences indicate a transition from oligo-mesotrophy to meso-eutrophy in Clear Lake, and from eutrophy to hypereutrophy in Lakes Parker, Hollingsworth and Griffin. In cores from all four lakes, the carbon isotopic signature of accumulated OM generally tracks trophic state inferences and cultural impact assessments based on other variables. Oldest sediments in the records yield lower diatom-inferred total limnetic P concentrations and display relatively low ¹³C values. In the Clear, Hollingsworth and Parker records, diatom-inferred nutrient concentrations increase after ca. AD 1900, and are associated stratigraphically with higher ¹³C values in sediment OM. In the Lake Griffin core, both proxies display slight increases before ~1900, but highest values occur over the last ~100 years. As Lakes Clear, Hollingsworth and Parker became increasingly nutrient-enriched over the past century, the ¹⁵N of sedimented organic matter decreased. This reflects, in part, the increasing relative contribution of nitrogen-fixing cyanobacteria to sedimented organic matter as primary productivity increased in these waterbodies. The Lake Griffin core displays a narrow range of both ¹³C and ¹⁵N values. Despite the complexity of carbon and nitrogen cycles in lakes, stratigraphic agreement between diatom-inferred changes in limnetic total P and the stable isotope signatures of sedimented OM suggests that ¹³C and ¹⁵N reflect shifts in historic lake trophic state.     

Holocene trophic state changes in relation to sea level variation in Lake Blanca, SE Uruguay

Paleolimnological data are presented relating trophic development to sea level variation in Lake Blanca, a small (0.6 km²), coastal fresh waterbody in southern Uruguay. Using a sediment core that extended to 7300 years BP, analyses of grain size, thin sections, organic matter, carbonate, total carbon, nutrients, diatoms and palynomorphs, allowed us to infer changes in trophic state and paleosalinities, which were closely related to Holocene sea level variation. Higher trophic states were observed during regressive events, most probably due to increases in runoff and erosion as regression progressed. Four diatom association zones (DAZ) were identified in the sediment core. The basal core section pre-dated the first Holocene marine transgression, contained no diatoms, chrysophyte cysts or non-siliceous microalgae, and showed C/N ratios values higher than 20. Thus, it is likely that the system exhibited terrestrial characteristics. In the second section (6500–2200 years BP, following the first Holocene transgression), there was dominance of marine/brackish diatom species. The lowest trophic states of the core were observed in this section. The third section (2200–1100 years BP), represented the system as it became separate from the Atlantic Ocean, and showed a dominance of brackish/freshwater species and increases in trophic state were observed. In the last section (after 1100 years BP), the system became fully freshwater as no marine or brackish diatom species were found, but a trend to oligotrophication was observed, probably due to nutrient depletion. However, after 1967 AD, eutrophication intensified because of forestry and soil fertilization in the catchment. Pollen association zones (PAZ) allowed us to identify four sections. Below 250 cm (2200 years BP), the core contained no pollen grains as redox potential and pH values were not conducive for pollen preservation. After 2200 years BP (when the system started to separate from the ocean), xerophilic taxa typical of coastal dunes colonized the catchment. Only after 1100 years BP (after fully freshwater conditions established) pollen grains of trees were observed.     

The Late Pleistocene - Holocene palaeolimnology of Lake Victoria, East Africa, based upon elemental and isotopic analyses of sedimentary organic matter

Three piston cores from Lake Victoria (East Africa) have been analysed for organic carbon (TOC) and nitrogen (TN) content, stable isotopes (¹³C and ¹⁵N), and Hydrogen Index (HI). These data are combined with published biogenic silica and water content analyses to produce a detailed palaeolimnological history of the lake over the past ca. 17.5 ka. Late Pleistocene desiccation produced a lake-wide discontinuity marked by a vertisol. Sediments below the discontinuity are characterised by relatively low TOC and HI values, and high C/N, ¹³C and ¹⁵N, reflecting the combined influence of abundant terrestrial plant material and generally unfavourable conditions for organic matter preservation. A thin muddy interval with lower ¹³C and higher HI and water content indicates that dry conditions were interrupted by a humid period of a few hundred years duration when the lake was at least 35 m deep. The climate changed to significantly more humid conditions around 15.2 ka when the dry lake floor was rapidly flooded. Abundant macrophytic plant debris and high TOC and ¹³C values at the upper vertisol surface probably reflect a marginal swamp. ¹³C values decrease abruptly and HI begins to increase around 15 ka BP, marking a shift to deeper-water conditions and algal-dominated lake production. C/N values are relatively low during this period, suggesting a generally adequate supply of nitrogen, but increasing ¹⁵N values reflect intense utilisation of the lake's DIN reservoir, probably due to a dramatic rise in productivity as nutrients were released to the lake from the flooded land surface.An abrupt drop in ¹³C and ¹⁵N values around 13.8-13.6 ka reflects a period of deep mixing. Productivity increased due to more efficient nutrient recycling, and ¹³C values fell as ¹²C-rich CO₂ released by bacterial decomposition of the organic material was brought into the epilimnion. A weak drop in HI values suggests greater oxygen supply to the hypolimnion at this time. Better mixing was probably due to increased wind intensity and may mark the onset of the Younger Dryas in the region.After the period of deep mixing, the water column became more stable. TOC, C/N, ¹³C and HI values were at a maximum during the period between 10 and 4 ka, when the lake probably had a stratified water column with anoxic bottom waters. A gradual decrease in values over the last 4000 yrs suggest a change to a more seasonal climate, with periodic mixing of the water column. Rising sediment accumulation rates and a trend to more uniform surface water conditions over the last 2000 yrs are probably a result of increased anthropogenic impact on the lake and its catchment.Following a maximum at the time of the rapid lake-level rise during the terminal Pleistocene, ¹⁵N has remained relatively low and displays a gradual but consistent trend to lower values from the end of the Pleistocene to the present. TN values have risen during the same period. The lack of correlation between ¹³C and ¹⁵N, and the absence of any evidence for isotopic reservoir effects despite the rise in TN, suggests that the atmosphere, rather than the lake's dissolved nitrogen pool has been the principal source of nitrogen throughout the Holocene. The importance of atmospheric N fixation to Lake Victoria's nitrogen cycle thus predates by a very considerable margin any possible anthropogenic eutrophication of the lake.     

Paleolimnological environment indicated by the diatom and pollen assemblages in an alpine lake in Taiwan

Yuanyang Lake (24°35N, 121°24E), located at an altitude of 1,670 m within a nature preserve in northern Taiwan, is an acidic lake. Remains of diatoms and pollen from a 3.72-m sediment core were used to elucidate the relationships between the vegetation of the watershed and the paleolimnological environment. Past pH, saprobity level, and total P of the lake were inferred from the diatom assemblages and were analyzed with respect to changes in the terrestrial vegetation. The inferred pH values fluctuated only slightly, whereas the inferred saprobity level increased markedly towards the sediment surface. In the topmost sediment, a slight drop in the inferred pH was associated with a lowering in the saprobity index. This was interpreted as a possible result of recent anthropogenic acidification and changes in productivity related to changes in acidity. Based on pollen analyses, we conclude that Chamaecyparis persisted over at least the last four thousand years in the watershed. The vegetation in the watershed changed little during this period of time, which is consistent with the constancy of inferred pH values. A positive correlation between the inferred pH and ¹³C values of the sediments was found.     

An early Holocene oxygen isotope record from the Olson buried forest bed, Southern Lake Michigan

Analysis of a 3.5 m vibracore from the Olson buried forest bed in the southern Lake Michigan basin provides new paleolimnological data for the early Holocene. The core records a rise in lake level from the Chippewa low water phase toward the Nipissing high water phase. Deepening of the water level at the core site is suggested by a trend toward decreasing organic carbon content up core that is interpreted as a response to increasing distance between terrestrial debris sources and the core site.Published data from deep water cores from the southern Lake Michigan basin suggest there had been an inflow of isotopically light water from glacial Lake Agassiz into the southern basin between 10.5-11 ka (A1 event). The data also indicate a second flood of isotopically light water between 8-9 ka (A2 event).Three new ¹⁴C dates from the Olson site core suggest that most of the sediment was deposited between 8.45 ka and 8.2 ka, an interval roughly coeval with the second pulse of ¹⁸O-depleted water (A2) from Lake Agassiz into the southern basin. Oxygen isotope ratio analysis of shell aragonite from the gastropods Probythinella lacustris and Marstonia deceptashows increasingly negative values up core. This trend in¹⁸O values suggests that ¹⁸O - depleted water entered the southern basin about 8.4 ka. The Olson site core thus provides a chronology of events in the southern Lake Michigan basin associated with the draining of glacial Lake Agassiz.     

32Si dating of sediments from Lake Baikal

We applied the ³²Si dating technique to a sediment core from Lake Baikal to obtain the sediment chronology for the last millennium. The core was recovered about 4 km offshore from the north slope of the South Basin in 1,366 m water depth. The sediment material consisted of continuously accumulated diatom-rich geogenic-terrigenous mud, intercalated with a number of dark olive-grey turbidite layers. The sediment layers containing the turbidites were excluded from ³²Si sampling to obtain the chronology that is representative of the continuous sedimentation. The initial ³²Si activity of 31.3 dpm kg^?1 SiO₂, measured in sediment trap samples, confirms the trend of ³²Si specific activities of biogenic silica found in other Northern Hemisphere lakes. The four sediment core samples from depth 0–48 cm have ³²Si specific activities between 23.5 and 0.5 dpm kg^?1 SiO₂, with corresponding ages between 60 and 860 years and constant sedimentation rate of 0.036 ± 0.004 cm year^?1 over the most recent 800 years. ³²Si allowed us for the first time to date the uppermost turbidites in the South Basin of Lake Baikal, to 1030, 1310 and 1670 ad. Given these dates, the last long-distance turbidity current triggered by slope instabilities had occurred 330 years before 2000 ad, and the intervals between the 1310 and 1670 ad event and between the 1030 and 1310 ad event were 360 and 280 years, respectively. The ³²Si ages allow unprecedented time resolution for reconstruction of the former environmental and climatic conditions during the past millennium.     

Holocene environmental change in southern Spain deduced from the isotopic record of a high-elevation wetland in Sierra Nevada

Small lakes and wetlands from high elevation within the Sierra Nevada Range (southern Spain) preserve a complete post-glacial Holocene record. Isotopic, TOC and C/N analyses, carried out on a sediment core, show various stages in the evolution of the Borreguiles de la Virgen, which today constitute a small bog at about 2,950?m above sea level. Glacial erosion generated a cirque depression, which became a small lake during the first phase of infilling (from?8,200 to 5,100?cal?yr BP), as suggested by sedimentary evidence, including an atomic C/N ratio generally below 20, low TOC values and the highest ??¹³C and ??¹⁵N values of the record. These results imply significant algal productivity, which is confirmed by the microscopic algal remains. Drier conditions became established progressively in this area from?5,100 to 3,700?cal?yr BP. Subsequently, the lake evolved into a bog as shown by geochemical evidence (C/N ratios above 20, high TOC content and low ??¹³C values). Unstable conditions prevailed from?3,600 to 700?cal?yr BP; an extremely low sedimentation rate and scarcity of data from this period do not allow us to make a coherent interpretation. Fluctuating conditions were recorded during the last?~700?cal?yr BP, with wetter conditions prevailing during the first part of the interval (with C/N rate below 20) up to 350?years ago. In general, a gradual trend toward more arid conditions occurred since?~6,900?cal?yr BP, with a further increase in aridity since?~5,100?cal?yr BP. This evidence is consistent with other contemporaneous peri-Mediterranean records.     

The climatic signal in varved sediments from Lake C2, northern Ellesmere Island, Canada

Annually-laminated clastic sediments preserve a high resolution proxy record of paleoclimate, provided that allochthonous sedimentation represents a response to meteorological forcing of watershed sediment transfer. Here, we demonstrate this linkage, and illustrate a calibration process using the most recent 40 years of a varve record from Lake C2 (82°50 N; 78°00 W), three years of field measurements, and meteorological data for 1951–92 from nearby AES weather station Alert. Field measurements were used to correlate proxies of the energy available for snowmelt (e.g. air temperature) and daily suspended sediment discharge (SSQ). Our calibration was extended through use of weather data from Alert. Both mean daily air temperature at Echo, and daily SSQ, were well correlated with air temperature at 600 m above Alert, as obtained from the 1200 Z (0800 LST) rawinsonde sounding. Accordingly, we used pooled 1990 and 1992 Alert 600 m data to predict the lagged daily sediment discharge into Lake C2 (adj. r ²=0.43). Daily values were summed each year in order to produce an annual series of predicted sediment transfer to the lake. The original varve chronology was based on eight sediment cores recovered from the deep basin of the lake (>80 m). Although low-frequency fluctuations of the varve and predicted SSQ series agree, slight tuning of the varve record optimizes the correlation between them. Adjustments were based on examination of weather data for specific years, reexamination of sediment core thin sections, and by aligning fluctuations in the two series which closely matched. Although the original chronology is reasonably well correlated with 600 m temperatures at Alert (for JJA mean, r=0.41, significant at 0.01), the adjusted chronology is both better correlated and contains a more precise climate signal (r=0.54 for July mean, significant at 0.01). This is the first calibrated varve record produced from Arctic lake sediments, and demonstrates that varves from Lake C2 contain a paleoclimatic record. We believe the post-facto manipulations required to produce the adjusted varve chronology are reasonable given the uncertainties inherent in varve counting, and the lack of any independent corroborating chronostratigraphic markers.This is the ninth in a series of papers published in this issue on the Taconite Inlet Lakes Project. These papers were collected by Dr R. S. Bradley.     

A 2500 year sediment record from Fayetteville Green Lake, New York: evidence for anthropogenic impacts and historic isotope shift

A series (N = 12) of short (< 1 m) sediment cores were collected from meromictic Green Lake in Fayetteville, New York to investigate potential anthropogenic impacts on the watershed during historic time and environmental change over the past ~ 2,500 years. Stratigraphic data document an abrupt basinwide change during the early 1800's A.D. from brown laminated sediments to grey varved sediments separated by a transition zone rich in aquatic moss. Deforestation of the region by European settlers during the early 1800's A.D. resulted in a flux of nutrients and increased biological productivity followed by a 7fold increase in sediment accumulation rates. Elemental geochemical data document the anthropogenic loading of lead to the to the lake basin via atmospheric fallout. Stable oxygen isotope (¹⁸O calcite) data also provide evidence for an abrupt shift in the isotopic composition of lake water ~ 150–200 years ago. This isotopic shift could have been a local phenomenon related to an increased supply of summer enriched precipitation following removal of forest vegetation, or it might have reflected broader scale climatic changes. We hypothesize that the ¹⁸O calcite shift was the result of the polar front jet stream migrating from a more southerly prehistoric position to a contracted, northerly configuration ~ 150–200 years ago. Such a shift could have been natural, associated with the end of the Little Ice Age or it may have been anthropogenically forced.     

Siliceous microfossil succession in the recent history of two basins in Lake Baikal, Siberia

As part of the international cooperative Baikal Drilling Project, siliceous microfossil assemblage succession was analyzed in two short ( 30-cm) sediment cores from Lake Baikal. One core was recovered from the north basin (Core 324, 55°15N, 109°30E), a second from between the central and southern basins (Core 316, 52°28N, 106°5E). The northern core had higher amounts of biogenic silica (40 g SiO₂ per 100 g dry weight sediment) compared to the southern core, and increased deposition in the more recent sediments. Weight percent biogenic silica was lower in the southern core, ranging from approximately 20–30 g SiO₂ per 100 g dry weight sediment throughout the entire core. Trends in absolute microfossil abundance mirror those of biogenic silica, with generally greater abundance in the northern core (86–275×10⁶ microfossils g^–1 dry sediment) compared to the southern core (94–163×10⁶ microfossils g^–1 dry sediment).Cluster analyses using relative abundance of the dominant diatom and chrysophyte taxa revealed four zones of microfossil succession in each core. Microfossil assemblage succession in the north basin may be reflecting shifts in nutrient supply and cycling driven by climatic changes. The most recent sediments in the northern basin (Zone 1,c. 1890's–1991 A.D.) were characterized by an increased abundance ofAulacoseira baicalensis andAulacoseira spore. Zone 3 (c. 1630's–1830's A.D.) was dominated by the endemicCyclotella spp. and reduced abundance of theAulacoseira spp. Zone 3 corresponds approximately to the Little Ice Age, a cooler climatic period. The microfossil assemblages between Zones 1 and 3 (Zone 2,c. 1830's–1890's A.D.) and below Zone 3 (Zone 4,c. 830's–1430's A.D.) are similar to one another suggesting they represent transitional intervals between warm and cold periods. Southern basin sediments record similar changes in the endemic taxa. However, the increased abundance of non-endemic planktonic taxa (e.g.Stephanodiscus binderanus, Synedra acus, Cyclostephanos dubius) during two periods in recent history (post World War II and late 1700's) suggests evidence for anthropogenic induced changes in southern Lake Baikal.     

Coring artifacts and contaminant inventories in lake sediment

Sediments of Lake 382, Experimental Lakes Area, Canada, were sampled at six sites using a 5-cm Wildco KB core sampler (KB), a similar device incorporating a ball check valve (BC), and a 0.2 m by 1.2 m flat-faced aluminum freeze core sampler (FC). Cores were sectioned at 1-cm intervals to a depth of 15 cm. Contaminant (²¹⁰Pb and ¹³⁷Cs) concentrations (Bq g^-1) were measured by gamma spectroscopy, and inventories (Bq cm^-2) were calculated following standard methods. Sediments collected using FC, BC and KB had similar contaminant concentrations, however, cores collected by FC and BC had lower estimated inventories than KB cores. Differences between estimates appear to be caused by differences in the water content (WC) of core material. Laboratory studies confirm that FC sediments have higher WC than tube-cored sediment. We hypothesize that ice crystal formation increases the WC of freeze cores, resulting in lower contaminant inventories. Loss of surficial sediment caused by a bow wave may have a similar effect on BC samples. We conclude that KB core gear is appropriate for sampling sediments to measure contaminant concentrations and inventories in recently deposited sediments.     

Oscillaxanthin and myxoxanthophyll in two cores from Lake Wabamun,Alberta, Canada

A sedimentary blue-green algal record has been investigated through measurement of myxoxanthophyll and oscillaxanthin in two cores taken from deep and shallow sites in Lake Wabamun, Alberta, Canada (Longitudes 114° 26 and 114° 44 W; Latitudes 50° 30 and 50° 35 N). Blue-green algae have been a component of the algal flora of this lake throughout the Holocene period. Myxoxanthophyll and oscillaxanthin maxima occur in early Holocene sediments (ca. 9000 years BP), whereas oscillaxanthin concentrations are high between 7000 and 3800 years BP. High oscillaxanthin levels suggest that a phytoplankton assemblage, which included Oscillatoria spp., existed during this latter period and the lake was more eutrophic than at present. Decreases in the number of planktonic diatoms in the core from the deep site (Seba core) appear to be related to increased eutrophy, increased salinity, and sediment redistribution as well as possible competition with Oscillatoria. That the lake has been less productive during the last 2500 years in supported by the diatom record, the diatom: chrysophyte statospore (stomatocyst) ratio and concentrations of the blue-green algal pigments. In the core from the shallow site (Moonlight Bay) concentrations of blue-green algal pigments are initially high, which along with the diatom assemblage, indicates a younger basal age of the sediments. It is possible that benthic blue-green algae contributed significantly to sedimentary pigment concentrations in the Moonlight Bay core. Major fluctuations in the Osc: Myx ratio, particularly in the Seba core, casts some doubt upon the usefulness of this ratio, and suggests that it is not degradation-independent.     

Multi-component carbon isotope evidence of early Holocene environmental change and carbon-flow pathways from a hard-water lake in northern Sweden

A 9000-year carbonate-rich sediment sequence from a small hard-water lake in northernmost Sweden was studied by means of multi-component stable carbon isotope analysis. Radiocarbon dating of different sediment fractions provides chronologic control and reveals a rather constant hard-water effect through time, suggesting that the lake has remained hydrologically open throughout the Holocene. Successive depletion of ¹³C in fine-grained calcite and carbonate shells during the early Holocene correlate with a change in catchment vegetation from pioneer herb communities to boreal forest. The vegetational change and associated soil development likely gave rise to an increased supply of ¹³C-depleted carbon dioxide in groundwater recharging the lake. This process is therefore believed to be the main cause of decreasing values of ¹³C in dissolved inorganic carbon of the lake and thereby in limnic carbonates. Strongly ¹³C-depleted sedimentary organic matter may be related to enhanced kinetic fractionation during photosynthetic assimilation by means of proton pumping in Characean algae. This interpretation is supported by a substantial offset between ¹³C of DIC as recorded by mollusc shells and ¹³C of fine-grained calcite.     

Relationship of Mn-carbonates in varved lake-sediments to catchment vegetation in Big Watab Lake, MN, USA

Mn-carbonates are documented in the late-glacial varved sediments from Big Watab Lake, Minnesota, USA. The Mn-carbonate is authigenic and forms rims around contemporaneous epilimnetic calcite. Although such carbonates are found in minor amounts throughout the entire late-glacial sequence, significant quantities of Mn-carbonate are associated mainly with laminated intervals.Because of the suspected difference in isotopic fractionation between different carbonate minerals, the stable-isotopic compositions of bulk carbonate samples are used as a proxy for relative amounts of the Mn-carbonate in the sediment. High ¹⁸O and low ¹³C values are associated with abundant Mn-carbonates. Low ¹⁸O and high ¹³C values are associated with only minor concentrations of Mn-carbonates.The oxygen-18 record is correlated with fluctuations in the vegetation assemblage based on pollen spectra using a multiple regression model with backward elimination. The proposed link between the sedimentary archive and local vegetation is the mediation of advective mixing in the lake by forest composition. In this model, periods of forest closure resulted in a well-stratified water column that was anoxic at the sediment/water interface, permitting the formation of authigenic Mn-carbonates. Openings of Artemisia in the forest allowed wind shear to mix oxygen to depth, causing bioturbation of the laminations and preventing the formation of Mn-carbonate.     

A preliminary investigation of siliceous microfossil succession in late Quaternary sediments from Lake Baikal, Siberia

Siliceous microfossil assemblage succession was analyzed in a 100 m sediment core from Lake Baikal, Siberia. The core was recovered from the lake's central basin at a water depth of 365 m. Microfossil abundance varied greatly within the intervals sampled, ranging from samples devoid of siliceous microfossils to samples with up to 3.49 × 10¹¹ microfossils g^-1 sediment. Fluctuations in abundance appear to reflect trends in the marine ¹⁸O record, with peak microfossil levels generally representing climate optima. Microfossil taxa present in sampled intervals changed considerably with core depth. Within each sample a small number of endemic diatom species dominated the assemblage. Changes in dominant endemic taxa between sampled intervals ranged from extirpation of some taxa, to shifts in quantitative abundance. Differences in microfossil composition and the association of variations in abundance with climate fluctuations suggest rapid speciation in response to major climatic excursions.