16 Lakes and Environmental Change

Tuesday, 15 March 2005
8:00 AM - 11:40 AM

INTERPRETATION OF SHORT CORE LAMINATION STRATIGRAPHY OF LAKE LINNÉ, SVALBARD NORWAY

Paper number: 16-5
Program: THEME SESSIONS
Time: 9:20 AM – 9:40 AM

Authors

Abstract

Sediment cores from glacial lake Linné offer high resolution lamination stratigraphy for calibration and interpretation of environmental conditions over the past 2000 years. Lake Linné (40 m deep, 4.6 km long, and 1.3 km wide) is located on the West coast of Svalbard Norway at 78º3’N lat. The lake receives meltwater from the Linné Glacier, which is 6 km to the south. Previous work shows that the Linné glacier has been melting since the onset of the late Holocene glacial event. Therefore, lake sediments preserve a record of local warming trends over the past 2000 years. Calibration of stratigraphy in our cores to modern weather patterns uses modern sediment trap data as well as instrumental weather records from 1911 through present. Other methods for studying and correlating the laminae include the use of X-ray imaging, thin section analysis, and Cesium 137 and Lead 210 dating. Once calibrated to known sedimentation and weather patterns, the pre-historic lamination in cores can reveal an extended record of Holocene environmental conditions.

Thirteen short cores were recovered from Lake Linné using an Aquatic Research Universal Short Corer. The cores are from five different locations in the lake to evaluate a range of sedimentation rates and inter-basin variability. The laminae are sub-millimeter-scale light and dark bands. The core sediments are free of bioterbation, and show high resolution. These cores are ideal for a study of local glacial conditions and regional Holocene climate change for two reasons. Firstly because they are beautifully preserved. Secondly because calibration of the lamination stratigraphy to historic weather records is a powerful tool to unravel the prehistoric record of environmental conditions.