Abstract
Spatial variability of sediment and diatom deposition was assessed in a small monomictic, eutrophic lake in Northern Ireland (Lough Augher, Co. Tyrone) using measurements from 17 sediment cores. Loss-onignition profiles in water depths >6 m showed good repeatability, while littoral cores were more variable with localised profiles. Dry mass accumulation rates, derived by biostratigraphic correlation to a 210Pb dated master core, were variable and not correlated with water depth. Basin mean dry mass accumulation rate was 0.068 g cm-2 yr-1 (range 0.036–0.09) prior to 1900, and 0.19 g cm-2 yr-1 (range 0.11–0.3) after 1974. Post-1940 cumulative fluxes were estimated for dry mass (range 3.49–916 g cm-2) and diatoms (range 16.9–113.8×107 frustules cm-2). Cumulative dry mass was inversely correlated (r=−0.64) with distance from the inflow, indicating its localised influence. No variable was correlated with water depth except frustules of planktonic diatoms (r=0.66). However, high cumulative fluxes of diatoms and dry mass away from the inflow suggest that the expansion of the littoral macrophyte community may be responsible for decreased resuspension in shallow water, and together with increased sediment trapping, has enhanced sediment accumulation in shallow water over recent time periods.
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Anderson, N.J. Spatial pattern of recent sediment and diatom accumulation in a small, monomictic, eutrophic lake. J Paleolimnol 3, 143–160 (1990). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00414068
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00414068