Geochronology of lake sediments

doi:10.1016/0012-821X(71)90202-0

Earth and Planetary Science Letters

Volume 11, Issues 1–5, May–August 1971, Pages 407-414

https://doi.org/10.1016/0012-821X(71)90202-0 Get rights and content

Abstract

This paper describes partially successful attempts to measure rates of sedimentation in lakes using radiometric techniques.

We show that²¹⁰Pb activity precipitated from the atmosphere is ideal for dating lake sediments of ⩽ 100 yr age. In fresh waters, lead is quickly removed from solution on to particulate matter so thatunsupported²¹⁰Pb activity in sediments is essentially that due to overhead fallout from the atmosphere. In three lake sediments, the atmospheric²¹⁰Pb activity lies between 5–50 dpm/g sediment dry weight, compared to the radium supported²¹⁰Pb activity of about 2 dpm/g.

⁵⁵Fe activity has been measured in the same cores dated by the²¹⁰Pb method. Its activity is easily measurable in lakes and forms a method of pinpointing the sediment strata accumulated in 1963–1964, the peak years of its fallout. The concentration of¹³⁷Cs has also been measured in a core, which however was not dated by other methods. Analogous to⁵⁵Fe,¹³⁷Cs activity is also useful for identifying the sediment layer accumulated during 1963–1964, although it seems that diffusion appreciably changes its depth distribution.

³²Si activity has been measured in sediments from two lakes. Its activity is also measurable and promises to be useful as a dating method for sediments of ⩽ 2000 yr age.

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Earth and Planetary Science Letters

Abstract

References (30)

Natural radioactivity in the hydrosphere

Strontium-90 fallout over Lake Michigan

J. Geophys. Res.

Ocean fallout — the Crater lake experiment

J. Geophys. Res.

A Dow Commitment: Excellence and leadership in environmental improvement

Natural variations in the ratio of²³⁴U/²³⁸U and an investigation of the potential of²³⁴U for Pleistocene chronology

Chemical and isotopic balances for a meromictic lake

Limnol. Oceanog.

Recent and postglacial production rates of a marl lake

Limnol. Oceanog.

Origin and extent of atmospheric¹⁴C variations during the past 10 000 years

Sedimentation in Cayuga Lake, New York

Limnol. Oceanog.

Fayetteville Green Lake, New York III, the laminated sediments

Limnol. Oceanog.

The succession of diatom assemblages in the recent sediments of Lake Washington

Limnol. Oceanog.

Recording densitometry of x-radiographs for the study of cryptic laminations in the sediment of Lake Washington

Limnol. Oceanog.

Hydrochemical and geochemical balance sheet for Lake Leman

Les lacs francais

Note on Tansa water works

Investigations in marine environments using radioisotopes produced by cosmic rays

Cited by (790)

Inventory-based evaluation of <sup>210</sup>Po-<sup>210</sup>Pb-<sup>226</sup>Ra disequilibria in deep oceans and new insights on their utility as biogeochemical tracers: A global data synthesis of research over six decades

Aquatic plants dominate the sources of long-chain n-alkanes in floodplain lakes in the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River

Natural and anthropogenic impacts on mercury accumulation in Xiaohai Lagoon, South China over the last 1200 years

Offshore evidence of historic and prehistoric tsunamis on the north shore of Tutuila (American Samoa)

About fluctuations in the excess <sup>210</sup>Pb flux into the East Siberian Arctic Shelf sediments, the Laptev Sea

Refining the history of extreme coastal events in southern Newfoundland, NW Atlantic, with lake sediment archives

Geochronology of lake sediments

Abstract

Strontium-90 fallout over Lake Michigan

J. Geophys. Res.

Ocean fallout — the Crater lake experiment

J. Geophys. Res.

A Dow Commitment: Excellence and leadership in environmental improvement

Natural variations in the ratio of234U/238U and an investigation of the potential of234U for Pleistocene chronology

Chemical and isotopic balances for a meromictic lake

Limnol. Oceanog.

Recent and postglacial production rates of a marl lake

Limnol. Oceanog.

Origin and extent of atmospheric14C variations during the past 10 000 years

Sedimentation in Cayuga Lake, New York

Limnol. Oceanog.

Fayetteville Green Lake, New York III, the laminated sediments

Limnol. Oceanog.

The succession of diatom assemblages in the recent sediments of Lake Washington

Limnol. Oceanog.

Recording densitometry of x-radiographs for the study of cryptic laminations in the sediment of Lake Washington

Limnol. Oceanog.

Hydrochemical and geochemical balance sheet for Lake Leman

Les lacs francais

Note on Tansa water works

Investigations in marine environments using radioisotopes produced by cosmic rays

Natural variations in the ratio of²³⁴U/²³⁸U and an investigation of the potential of²³⁴U for Pleistocene chronology

Origin and extent of atmospheric¹⁴C variations during the past 10 000 years