Annually-laminated lake sediments and the study of Quaternary environmental changes — a review

O'Sullivan, P. E.

doi:10.1016/0277-3791(83)90008-2

Cited by 259 publications

(120 citation statements)

References 58 publications

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“…The characteristics of annual laminations are strongly dependent on their ambient aquatic conditions (see e.g. O'Sullivan, 1983;Lotter and Sturm, 1993;Sturm and Lotter, 1995).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Varve formation since 1885 and high-resolution varve analyses in hypertrophic Baldeggersee (Switzerland)

et al. 1997

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According to their microstratigraphical composition the laminated sediments of Baldeggersee are true varves. Two varve time-series from freeze cores taken in the deepest part (66 m) of Baldeggersee have been analysed for annual and seasonal layers. The varve time-series covers the period of 1885 to 1993.The two freeze-cores from Baldeggersee can be accurately correlated by means of distinct layers (e.g. marker varves, turbidites), lithological units, and varve measurements. The Baldeggersee varve chronology has been checked by independent high-resolution 137 Cs dating. Mobility of cesium has not been detected in Baldeggersee. A highly positive correlation between phosphorus concentration in the lake water and median grain size of calcite crystals has been observed and allows, together with the results of geochemical analyses, to hindcast the trophic state in Baldeggersee for periods where no limnological data are available.The main features of the Baldeggersee varve time-series can be summarized as follows: before 1885 there are packets of 5 -10 varves interrupted by massive, homogeneous marl beds, indicating oscillating hypolimnetic oxygen levels until the lake ultimately became anoxic in 1885. Between 1885 and 1905 varves are thin, with a high carbonate content. Between 1905 and 1910 the thickness of varves increased steadily, and an increase in calcite grain size suggests a major step in eutrophication. Median grain size values increase again at the end of the 1940s, whereas the thickness of the seasonal layers decreased between the early 1940s and the early 1960s. At the onset of the 1960s, during the time of highest epilimnetic phosphorus concentrations in Baldeggersee, the total phosphorus concentrations in the sediments as well as the varve thickness and the total accumulation rates all increased. At the beginning of the 1980s the median grain size decreased substantially as a result of lower phosphorus concentrations in Baldeggersee.

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“…The characteristics of annual laminations are strongly dependent on their ambient aquatic conditions (see e.g. O'Sullivan, 1983;Lotter and Sturm, 1993;Sturm and Lotter, 1995).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The term varve, originally coined for glaciolacustrine, annual laminations (De Geer, 1912) has also been widely used for different types of non-clastic, annual laminations (O'Sullivan, 1983;Simola, 1992). In fact, laminted lake sediments are often called varves.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Varve formation since 1885 and high-resolution varve analyses in hypertrophic Baldeggersee (Switzerland)

et al. 1997

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“…Numerous investigations demonstrate that undisturbed lacustrine sediment records are well suited for paleoenvironmental reconstruction (Renberg and Segerström 1981;O'Sullivan 1983;Zolitschka et al 2000;Brauer 2004). The sediment archive is especially valuable if deposits are annually laminated, because varves provide an accurate, high-resolution core chronology.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Another necessary requirement for the formation and preservation of annually laminated sediments is a lack of postdepositional sediment disturbance. Water currents that cause lateral sediment dislocation, as well as gas release from decomposing sediments and bioturbation, all have the potential to disrupt varve preservation (O'Sullivan 1983). Lake basins must be morphometrically suited for varve formation and preservation.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Conditions for deposition of annually laminated sediments in small meromictic lakes: a case study of Lake Suminko (northern Poland)

et al. 2011

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A three-year field study was conducted in Lake Suminko, Poland, to gain an understanding of the limnological variables that influence the formation and spatial extent of annually laminated sediments in the lake. The water body is divided into three depth strata, the mixolimnion, chemocline and monimolimnion, each defined by distinct values of temperature, electrical conductivity and oxygen concentration. Typical for meromictic lakes, the monimolimnion remains perennially anoxic and is rich in dissolved solids and nutrients. The annual pattern of particle flux in Lake Suminko is closely related to biochemical processes in the euphotic zone. During winter months we observed very low accumulation rates of non-carbonaceous matter, while during the rest of the year, three periods of calcite deposition were recorded (April, July-August, and OctoberNovember). The periods of high calcite deposition corresponded with algal blooms and oxygen concentration maxima. Two principal factors contribute to meromixis in Lake Suminko: (1) the basin is sheltered, preventing wind mixing, and (2) biochemical processes in the lake associated with high lacustrine productivity. Meromictic conditions must control the formation and preservation of laminated sediments in the lake because preserved laminations occur only in areas where the lake floor lies below monimolimnetic waters.

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“…Sedimentation may be quite rapid, often of the order of a few mm yr 21 (Brothers et al 2008) and the high preservation potential (Leeder 1982;Verschuren 1999) potentially allows more-or-less continuous reconstruction of environmental changes at decadal resolution or better (e.g., Stern et al 2005). Many glacial lakes are characterized by annually laminated sediments, which reflect seasonal variation in meltwater and clastic sediment input (Itkonen and Salonen 1994) and provide an absolute incremental chronology (O'Sullivan 1983;Gajewski et al 1997). Elsewhere, lake sediments tend to be massive and their use for palaeolimnological studies depends on good chronological control, as well as the assumption that the depth of homogenization of the sub-fossil record due to resuspension and vertical mixing is less than the sampling interval (Larsen and MacDonald 1993).…”

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confidence: 99%

Three‐dimensional hydrodynamic and sediment transport modeling to test the sediment focusing hypothesis in upland lakes

Morales-Marín

French

Burningham

et al. 2017

Limnology & Oceanography

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Palaeolimnological studies rely on assumptions regarding the distribution and completeness of lake deposits that are not always fully supported by observations. In particular, the assumption that "focusing" of suspended sediments leads to preferential deposition in the deepest part of a lake is not always justified, especially in upland lakes subject to energetic wind forcing. Few studies have investigated the hydrodynamic controls on lake sediment focusing, especially the importance of wind-driven currents in deep water. We combine a three-dimensional numerical hydrodynamic and suspended sediment model (FVCOM) with a semi-empirical wind wave model to investigate the potential mobility of bottom sediments in a small oligotrophic upland lake (Llyn Conwy, north Wales, UK). Exploratory simulations of wave-and current-generated bottom stress and suspended sediment dynamics confirm the expected importance of wave-generated bottom stresses in shallower waters (< 3 m depth) around the shore. Field survey shows that lake sediments are largely absent from this zone. This is consistent with peripheral wave action as a sediment focusing mechanism. In deeper water, wind-driven currents become the dominant contributor to bottom stress. Strong wind forcing events drive an energetic circulation with peak bottom stresses that intermittently exceed any realistic erosion threshold over a large proportion of the lake at depths far below those at which waves can be effective. The spatial distribution of lake sediments, and the completeness of the sediment record, is thus determined by a complex interaction between wind-driven circulation and bathymetry, rather than by bathymetry alone. Although our sediment dynamics simulations are purely exploratory, the results are consisted with survey results that show a patchy distribution of deep-water accumulation. Some implications of these results for the selection of sediment coring locations and the interpretation of sediment records are considered.

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Annually-laminated lake sediments and the study of Quaternary environmental changes — a review

Cited by 259 publications

References 58 publications

Varve formation since 1885 and high-resolution varve analyses in hypertrophic Baldeggersee (Switzerland)

Varve formation since 1885 and high-resolution varve analyses in hypertrophic Baldeggersee (Switzerland)

Conditions for deposition of annually laminated sediments in small meromictic lakes: a case study of Lake Suminko (northern Poland)

Three‐dimensional hydrodynamic and sediment transport modeling to test the sediment focusing hypothesis in upland lakes

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