Northern Eurasian large lakes history: sediment records obtained in the frame of Russian-German research project PLOT

Russian-German project PLOT (Paleolimnological Transect) aims at investigating the regional responses of the quaternary climate and environment on external forcing and feedback mechanisms along a more than 6000 km long longitudinal transect crossing Northern Eurasia. The well-dated record from Lake El´gygytgyn used as reference site for comparison the local climatic and environmental histories. Seismic surveys and sediment coring up to 54 m below lake floor performed in the frame of the project on Ladoga Lake (North-West of Russia; 2013), Lake Bolshoye Shchuchye (Polar Ural; 2016), Lake Levinson-Lessing and Lake Taymyr (Taymyr Peninsula; 2016-2017), Lake Emanda (Verkhoyansk Range; 2017). Fieldwork at Polar Ural and Taymyr Peninsula was conducted in collaboration with the Russian-Norwegian CHASE (Climate History along the Arctic Seaboard of Eurasia) project. Here, we present the major results of the project obtained so far

Climatic and environmental changes in the Yana Highlands of north‐eastern Siberia over the last c. 57 000 years, derived from a sediment core from Lake Emanda.

The sediment succession of Lake Emanda in the Yana Highlands was investigated to reconstruct the regional late Quaternary climate and environmental history. Hydro‐acoustic data obtained during a field campaign in 2017 show laminated sediments in the north‐western and deepest (up to ̃15 m) part of the lake, where a ̃6‐m‐long sediment core (Co1412) was retrieved. The sediment core was studied with a multi‐proxy approach including sedimentological and geochemical analyses. The chronology of Co1412 is based on 14C AMS dating on plant fragments from the upper 4.65 m and by extrapolation suggests a basal age of c. 57 cal. ka BP. Pronounced changes in the proxy data indicate that early Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 3 was characterized by unstable environmental conditions associated with short‐term temperature and/or precipitation variations. This interval was followed by progressively colder and likely drier conditions during mid‐MIS 3. A lake‐level decline between 32.0 and 19.1 cal. ka BP was presumably related to increased continentality and dry conditions peaking during the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM). A subsequent rise in lake level could accordingly have been the result of increased rainfall, probably in combination with seasonally high meltwater input. A milder or wetter Lateglacial climate increased lake productivity and vegetation growth, the latter stabilizing the catchment and reducing clastic input into the lake. The Bølling‐Allerød warming, Younger Dryas cooling and Holocene Thermal Maximum (HTM) are indicated by distinct changes in the environment around Lake Emanda. Unstable, but similar‐to‐present‐day climatic and environmental conditions have persisted since c. 5 cal. ka BP. The results emphasize the highly continental setting of the study site and therefore suggest that the climate at Lake Emanda was predominantly controlled by changes in summer insolation, global sea level, and the extent of ice sheets over Eurasia, which influenced atmospheric circulation patterns

Climatic and environmental changes in the Yana Highlands of north‐eastern Siberia over the last c. 57 000 years, derived from a sediment core from Lake Emanda

The sediment succession of Lake Emanda in the Yana Highlands was investigated to reconstruct the regional late Quaternary climate and environmental history. Hydro‐acoustic data obtained during a field campaign in 2017 show laminated sediments in the north‐western and deepest (up to ̃15 m) part of the lake, where a ̃6‐m‐long sediment core (Co1412) was retrieved. The sediment core was studied with a multi‐proxy approach including sedimentological and geochemical analyses. The chronology of Co1412 is based on 14C AMS dating on plant fragments from the upper 4.65 m and by extrapolation suggests a basal age of c. 57 cal. ka BP. Pronounced changes in the proxy data indicate that early Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 3 was characterized by unstable environmental conditions associated with short‐term temperature and/or precipitation variations. This interval was followed by progressively colder and likely drier conditions during mid‐MIS 3. A lake‐level decline between 32.0 and 19.1 cal. ka BP was presumably related to increased continentality and dry conditions peaking during the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM). A subsequent rise in lake level could accordingly have been the result of increased rainfall, probably in combination with seasonally high meltwater input. A milder or wetter Lateglacial climate increased lake productivity and vegetation growth, the latter stabilizing the catchment and reducing clastic input into the lake. The Bølling‐Allerød warming, Younger Dryas cooling and Holocene Thermal Maximum (HTM) are indicated by distinct changes in the environment around Lake Emanda. Unstable, but similar‐to‐present‐day climatic and environmental conditions have persisted since c. 5 cal. ka BP. The results emphasize the highly continental setting of the study site and therefore suggest that the climate at Lake Emanda was predominantly controlled by changes in summer insolation, global sea level, and the extent of ice sheets over Eurasia, which influenced atmospheric circulation patterns.Bundesministerium für Bildung und Forschun

Biogeochemistry analysis of sediment core Co1412 in the Yana Highlands

The sediment succession of Lake Emanda in the Yana Highlands was investigated to reconstruct the regional late Quaternary climate and environmental history. Hydro-acoustic data obtained during a field campaign in 2017 show laminated sediments in the north-western and deepest (up to ~15 m) part of the lake, where a ~6-m-long sediment core (Co1412, latitude 65°17.6490N, longitude 135°45.5540E) was retrieved. The sediment core was studied with a multi-proxy approach including sedimentological and geochemical analyses. The chronology of Co1412 is based on 14C AMS dating on plant fragments from the upper 4.65 m and by extrapolation, suggesting a basal age of c. 57 cal. ka BP.Biogeochemistry analysis of sediment Co1412: TOC=total organic carbon (%), TN=total nitrogen (%), TOC/TN (atomic), TS=total sulphur (%), TIC=total inorganic carbon (%) data of sediment Co1412 against composite depth (cm) and age (cal. a BP)

XRF analysis of sediment core Co1412 in the Yana Highlands

The sediment succession of Lake Emanda in the Yana Highlands was investigated to reconstruct the regional late Quaternary climate and environmental history. Hydro-acoustic data obtained during a field campaign in 2017 show laminated sediments in the north-western and deepest (up to ~15 m) part of the lake, where a ~6-m-long sediment core (Co1412, latitude 65°17.6490N, longitude 135°45.5540E) was retrieved. The sediment core was studied with a multi-proxy approach including sedimentological and geochemical analyses. The chronology of Co1412 is based on 14C AMS dating on plant fragments from the upper 4.65 m and by extrapolation, suggesting a basal age of c. 57 cal. ka BP. XRF analysis of sediment core Co1412: Mn/Fe=Manganese/Iron, K/Ti=Potassium/Titanium, Fe=Iron (cps) data of sediment Co1412 against composite depth (cm) and age (cal. a BP)

Grain size distribution of sediment core Co1412 in the Yana Highlands

The sediment succession of Lake Emanda in the Yana Highlands was investigated to reconstruct the regional late Quaternary climate and environmental history. Hydro-acoustic data obtained during a field campaign in 2017 show laminated sediments in the north-western and deepest (up to ~15 m) part of the lake, where a ~6-m-long sediment core (Co1412, latitude 65°17.6490N, longitude 135°45.5540E) was retrieved. The sediment core was studied with a multi-proxy approach including sedimentological and geochemical analyses. The chronology of Co1412 is based on 14C AMS dating on plant fragments from the upper 4.65 m and by extrapolation, suggesting a basal age of c. 57 cal. ka BP. Grain size distribution of sediment core Co1412: Clay (%), silt (%), sand (%) content of sediment Co1412 against composite depth (cm) and age (cal. a BP)

Isotope data of sediment core Co1412 in the Yana Highlands

The sediment succession of Lake Emanda in the Yana Highlands was investigated to reconstruct the regional late Quaternary climate and environmental history. Hydro-acoustic data obtained during a field campaign in 2017 show laminated sediments in the north-western and deepest (up to ~15 m) part of the lake, where a ~6-m-long sediment core (Co1412, latitude 65°17.6490N, longitude 135°45.5540E) was retrieved. The sediment core was studied with a multi-proxy approach including sedimentological and geochemical analyses. The chronology of Co1412 is based on 14C AMS dating on plant fragments from the upper 4.65 m and by extrapolation, suggesting a basal age of c. 57 cal. ka BP .Isotope data of sediment Co1412: d13Corg=carbon isotopic composition (‰) of sediment Co1412 against composite depth (cm) and age (cal. a BP)

Climatic and environmental changes in the Yana Highlands of north-eastern Siberia over the last c. 57 000 years, derived from a sediment core from Lake Emanda

The sediment succession of Lake Emanda in the Yana Highlands was investigated to reconstruct the regional late Quaternary climate and environmental history. Hydro-acoustic data obtained during a field campaign in 2017 show laminated sediments in the north-western and deepest (up to -m) part of the lake, where a similar to 6-m-long sediment core (Co1412) was retrieved. The sediment core was studied with a multi-proxy approach including sedimentological and geochemical analyses. The chronology of Co1412 is based on C-14 AMS dating on plant fragments from the upper 4.65 m and by extrapolation suggests a basal age of c. 57 cal. ka BP. Pronounced changes in the proxy data indicate that early Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 3 was characterized by unstable environmental conditions associated with short-term temperature and/or precipitation variations. This interval was followed by progressively colder and likely drier conditions during mid-MIS 3. A lake-level decline between 32.0 and 19.1 cal. ka BP was presumably related to increased continentality and dry conditions peaking during the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM). A subsequent rise in lake level could accordingly have been the result of increased rainfall, probably in combination with seasonally high meltwater input. A milder or wetter Lateglacial climate increased lake productivity and vegetation growth, the latter stabilizing the catchment and reducing clastic input into the lake. The Bolling-Allerod warming, Younger Dryas cooling and Holocene Thermal Maximum (HTM) are indicated by distinct changes in the environment around Lake Emanda. Unstable, but similar-to-present-day climatic and environmental conditions have persisted since c. 5 cal. ka BP. The results emphasize the highly continental setting of the study site and therefore suggest that the climate at Lake Emanda was predominantly controlled by changes in summer insolation, global sea level, and the extent of ice sheets over Eurasia, which influenced atmospheric circulation patterns

Multi-proxy data set of the sediment core Co1410 from Lake Imandra, NW Russia

The sediment succession of Lake Imandra in the central Kola region was investigated by a hydro-acoustic survey followed by sediment coring of site Co1410 (67°42'56.76"N, 33°5'6.42"E) down to the acoustic basement. We reconstructed the environmental history of Lake Imandra after the last deglaciation based on physical, biogeochemical, sedimentological, granulometrical, and micropalaeontological proxies. Our findings reveal the timing of the onset of lacustrine sediment deposition in the lake basin during the Late Glacial and the variability of climatic signals throughout the Holocene. All datasets comprise a depth and age column and: 1. S = Sulfur (%); TOC = Total Organic Content (%); TOC/TN = Total Organic Content / Total Nitrogen; Water Content (%); Grain Size d50 (µm); EM1 =Endmember 1 (%); EM2 =Endmember 2 (%); EM3 = Endmember 3 (%) 2. Acroperus harpae; Alona affinis; Alona guttata/Coronatella rectangula; Alona intermedia; Alona quadrangularis; Alona rustica; Alonella excisa; Alonella exigua; Alonella nana; Alonopsis elongata; Bosmina (Bosmina) longirostris; Bosmina (Eubosmina) cf. longispina/cf. coregoni; Chydorus cf. sphaericus; Daphnia longispina agg.; Eurycercus sp. Leptodora kindtii; Monospilus dispar; Paralona pigra; Pleuroxus truncatus; Rhynchotalona falcata; Planktonic; Littoral-benthic ; (%) Acroperus harpae; (%) Alona affinis; (%) Alona guttata/Coronatella rectangula; (%) Alona intermedia; (%) Alona quadrangularis; (%) Alona rustica; (%) Alonella excisa; (%) Alonella exigua; (%) Alonella nana; (%) Alonopsis elongata; (%) Bosmina (Bosmina) longirostris; (%) Bosmina (Eubosmina) cf. longispina/cf. coregoni; (%) Chydorus cf. sphaericus; (%) Daphnia longispina agg.; (%) Eurycercus sp.; (%) Leptodora kindtii; (%) Monospilus dispar; (%) Paralona pigra; (%) Pleuroxus truncatus; (%) Rhynchotalona falcata 3. magnetic susceptibility (SI * 10^-5) 4. Pinus(%); Artemisia (%); Total Pollen Concentration /1000; AP/NAP; Arboreale Pollen (%); Non-Arboreale Pollen (%) 5. Zr/Rb (log); Rb/Sr; Zr/Al; K/Al; Ti (cps); Ti/Al; Si (cps); Si/Ti; Br/Al; Fe (cps); Fe/M