The role of sediments in the phosphorus cycle in Lake Lugano. I. Geochemical approach

The bottom sediment from three coring stations in Lake Lugano (Lago di Lugano) show major differences in their role in the P-cycles related to their geochemistry and characteristics of sedimentation. In the northern basin, the deepest sediment may be considered practically inactive, due to a permanently reduced condition at the sediment-water interface. In the southern basin, the sediments are active with respect to P-recycling with strong seasonal variations. One of the sites (Figino) behaves as a sink for P due to a high iron content and an important rate of detrital sedimentation.     

Weathering and climate change since l820 AD in Hoh Xil, Qinghai-Xizang Plateau, China——Evidence from element geochemistry of lake sediments of Gulug Co Lake

Element geochemistry of lake sediments has been widely used to detect climate change because element composition and ratios can reflect the weathering degree in the source area. Given the dement composition of lake sediments from Gulug Co Lake, Hoh Xil, Qing- hai-Xizang Plateau, chemical index of alteration （CIA）, index of composition variability （ICV） and other element ratios have been used to establish the weathering sequence of this area since 1820 AD. The weathering is so weak that the element composition change is more sensitive to climate change and autochthonous processes. From 1820 to 1984 AD, there were two drier periods with a wetter interval from 1870 to 1945 AD. After 1984 the weather showed a tendency of becoming wet.     

Paleoenvironmental records of water level and climatic changes from the middle to late Holocene at a Lake Erie coastal wetland, Ontario, Canada

Pollen and diatom assemblages, and peat stratigraphies, from a coastal wetland on the northern shore of Lake Erie were used to analyze water level and climatic changes since the middle Holocene and their effects on wetland plant communities. Peat deposition began 4700 cal yr B.P. during the Nipissing II transgression, which was driven by isostatic rebound. At that time, a diatom-rich wild rice marsh existed at the site. Water level dropped at the end of the Nipissing rise at least 2 m within 200 yr, leading to the development of shallower-water plant communities and an environment too dry for most diatoms to persist. The sharp decline in water level was probably driven primarily by outlet incision, but climate likely played some role. The paleoecological records provide evidence for post-Nipissing century-scale transgressions occurring around 2300, 1160, 700 and 450 cal yr B.P. The chronology for these transgressions correlates with other studies from the region and implies climatic forcing. Peat inception in shallow sloughs across part of the study area around 700 cal yr B.P. coincides with the Little Ice Age. These records, considered alongside others from the region, suggest that the Little Ice Age may have resulted in a wetter climate across the eastern Great Lakes region.     

Tracking recorded fires using charcoal morphology from the sedimentary sequence of Prosser Lake, British Columbia (Canada)

Quantitative analyses of variations in morphological features of charcoal were undertaken in a ²¹⁰Pb-dated sediment core from Prosser Lake (British Columbia, Canada). Seven morphological types of charcoal were defined by particle shape, major-minor axis ratio, apparent porosity and progradation to unburned material. The distribution of morphotypes and total charcoal abundances were assessed as a proxy for fire events recorded between 1919 and 2000 and to subsequent mechanisms of transportation-sedimentation to lake sediments. Charcoal morphotypes showed distinct relationships to recorded area burned by fires. Fragile charcoal fragments with highly irregular porosity (termed Type M) displayed the strongest correlation to burned area (r² = 0.51; P = 0.0001) and did not produce any false-positive signal for fires recorded within a radius of 20 km around the lake. We infer that high porosity and low density Type M fragments are aerially transported and directly deposited on the lake, and that the fragility of Type M charcoal prevents significant quantities from being secondarily transported and incorporated into the sedimentary record. We propose that charcoal morphology is an important but underutilized technique that can yield important insights into fire type, proximity and transportation-sedimentation processes.     

Stratigraphic evidence for multiple drainings of glacial Lake Missoula along the Clark Fork River, Montana, USA

Glacial Lake Missoula, a source of Channeled Scabland flood waters, inundated valleys of northwest Montana to altitudes of ∼ 1265 m and to depths of  >600 m, as evidenced by shorelines and silty lacustrine deposits. This study describes previously unrecognized catastrophic lake-drainage deposits that lie stratigraphically beneath the glacial-lake silts. The unconsolidated gravelly flood alluvium contains imbricated boulder-sized clasts, cross-stratified gravel with slip-face heights of 2-> 35 m, and 70- to 100-m-high gravel bars which all indicate a high-energy, high-volume alluvial environment. Gravel bars and high scablands were formed by catastrophic draining of one or possibly more early, high lake stands (1200-1265 m). Most glacial-lake silt, such as the Ninemile section, was deposited stratigraphically above the earlier deposits, represents a lower lake stand(s) (1050-1150 m), and was not deposited in lake(s) responsible for the highest discharge events. The glaciolacustrine silt-covered benches are incised by relict networks of valleys formed during the drainage of the last glacial lake. Significant erosion associated with the last lake draining was confined to the inner Clark Fork River canyon.     

梁子湖水体P的季节变化与沉积物P释放初步研究

采用分级测定的方法对梁子湖沉积物中无机磷酸盐进行了分析,测定了梁子湖水体P的季节变化,并以室内模拟的方法研究梁子湖沉积物在pH值和温度控制下P的释放特征。研究表明,梁子湖水体P的含量呈明显的季节变化,冬季高,夏季低。沉积物无机磷(P i)中以钙磷(Ca—P)为主(55%~61%),铁磷(Fe—P)次之(28%~33%),铝磷(A l—P)最少(3%~5%)。在梁子湖的入水口和出水口,由于沉积环境影响到P的形态,P的释放明显较湖心高。在试验初期,由于扰动的影响,使得P的释放在第1天比第2天和第3天高,其后P的释放量则迅速增加。温度对P释放影响明显,其具体表现为,30℃时P释放达到峰值的时间比4℃时提前4 d,而且前者峰值比后者高出9倍。pH值对沉积物P释放同样有明显的影响,与正常状态下的湖水条件(pH值为8.5)相比,偏酸(pH值为5.5)和偏碱(pH值为11.5)条件下,P的释放量增加。     

Sources of Sediment in Lake Pepin on the Upper Mississippi River in Response to Holocene Climatic Changes

Sediments from Lake Pepin on the Mississippi River, southeastern Minnesota, are used as provenance tracers to assess variations in hydrology and sediment-transport during the middle Holocene. Three rivers contribute sediment to Lake Pepin, and each catchment is characterized by a distinctly different geologic terrain. The geochemical fingerprint for each drainage basin was determined from the elemental composition of heavy minerals in the silt-sized fraction of modern sediment samples. Down-core elemental abundances were compared with these fingerprints by use of a chemical-mass-balance model that apportions sediment to the source areas. We observed a decreased contribution from the Minnesota River during the interval ~6700–5500 ¹⁴C yr BP, which we attribute to decreased discharge of the Minnesota River, likely controlled by a combination of precipitation, snow melt, and groundwater input to the river. This hydrologic condition coincides with the mid-Holocene prairie period recorded by fossil pollen data. The occurrence of this feature in a proxy record for hydrologic variations supports the hypothesis that the mid-Holocene prairie period reflects drier conditions than before or after in midwestern North America.     

Results from a Multi-disciplinary Sedimentary Pilot Study of Tectonic Lake Iznik (NW Turkey) – Geochemistry and Paleolimnology of the Recent Past

A limnogeological reconnaissance study was carried out on Lake Iznik, located in the southeast of the Marmara region of Turkey, involving a seismic survey and collection of short sediment cores. This lake is located on the middle branch of the North Anatolian Fault Zone (NAFZ), a transform plate boundary between the Eurasian and Anatolian Plates. It is, therefore, tectonically active and offers an opportunity to investigate the interplay of sedimentary and seismo-tectonic processes, as well as climate change and human impact in the region. Short cores of the three sub-basins, maximum length of 35.5 cm, recovered non-laminated, blackish clays and silts with varying amounts of biogenic and minerogenic (allochthonous, autochthonous) material, which documented almost the last 80 years of deposition and environmental history. High sedimentation rates in the deeper core sections are accompanied by changes in land use (conversion of woodland to farmland) in the northern areas of Lake Iznik, which caused the deposition of more weathered material (high K/Na ratios) and higher contents of Mn in the lake. A tendency towards eutrophic conditions within the last 20 years is indicated by high nutrient content (N, TOC, P), decreasing C/N-ratios, and characteristic diatom and cladoceran associations. Also increased pollution is revealed by higher Pb, Cu, and Zn contents and increased supply of human and animal faeces (high coprostanol content) during the last two decades. But simultaneous lower sedimentation rates towards the core tops complicate the reconstruction of recent and past eutrophication and pollution states of Lake Iznik. This requires an extension of the pilot study and deeper sediment cores, to recover non-anthropogenic influenced sediment levels.     

Sedimentary facies and climate control on formation of vivianite and siderite microconcretions in sediments of Lake Baikal, Siberia

Authigenic vivianite and siderite microconcretions were found, respectively, in hemipelagic and deltaic facies of 600-m-long BDP-98 sediment section from Lake Baikal. Textural investigations of these microconcretions show that they are typically <1 mm in size, irregular in shape and composed of aggregated crystallites. Dissimilar orientation of vivianite and siderite crystallites suggests formation at different depths in the sediment; up to tens of centimeters for vivianite and tens of meters for siderite. Chemical analyses of both the vivianite and the siderite indicate cation composition characterized by minor amounts of Mn, Ca and Mn apart from the dominating Fe. Rather limited and distinctive carbon isotopic composition of the siderite, with δ ¹³C_VPDB values between about +13 and +16‰, implies formation of the mineral in the methanogenic zone of diagenesis. Isotopic composition of oxygen in the siderite (δ ¹⁸O_VPDB values between about −10 and -11‰ ) is consistent with crystallization temperature at about 10–30°C and water δ ¹⁸O_SMOW values between about −10 and -16‰ . The distribution of the authigenic minerals in the section suggests changes in both sedimentary facies and climate, where vivianite formation was controlled by hemipelagic depositional conditions during the Pliocene and Quaternary, whereas siderite reflects impact of deltaic conditions during the Miocene.