0000000000114901
AUTHOR
Oliver Heiri
The sedimentary and remote-sensing reflection of biomass burning in Europe
Aim: We provide the first European-scale geospatial training set relating the charcoal signal in surface lake sediments to fire parameters (number, intensity and area) recorded by satellite moderate resolution imaging spectroradiometer (MODIS) sensors. Our calibration is intended for quantitative reconstructions of key fire-regime parameters by using sediment sequences of microscopic (MIC from pollen slides, particles 10-500 µm) and macroscopic charcoal (MAC from sieves, particles > 100 µm). Location: North-south and east-west transects across Europe, covering the mediterranean, temperate, alpine, boreal and steppe biomes. Time period: Lake sediments and MODIS active fire and burned area…
Variability in δ13C values between individual Daphnia ephippia: Implications for palaeo-studies
The stable carbon isotope ratio (δ13 C value) of Daphnia spp. resting egg shells (ephippia) provides information on past changes in Daphnia diet. Measurements are typically performed on samples of _20 ephippia, which obscures the range of values associated with individual ephippia. Using a recently developed laser ablation-based technique, we perform multiple δ13 C analyses on individual ephippia, which show a high degree of reproducibility (standard deviations 0.1e0.5‰). We further measured δ13 C values of 13 ephippia from surface sediments of three Swiss lakes. In the well-oxygenated lake with low methane concentrations, δ13 C values are close to values typical for algae (_31.4‰) and the …
Supplementary methods and results from Trophic state changes can affect the importance of methane-derived carbon in aquatic food webs
Additional details on methods and results (as referred to in the main article) and a semi-colon delimited table with downcore isotope and TP records
Abundance and δ13C values of fatty acids in lacustrine surface sediments: Relationships with in-lake methane concentrations
Proxy-indicators in lake sediments provide the only approach by which the dynamics of in-lake methane cycling can be examined on multi-decadal to centennial time scales. This information is necessary to constrain how lacustrine methane production, oxidation and emissions are expected to respond to global change drivers. Several of the available proxies for reconstructing methane cycle changes of lakes rely on interpreting past changes in the abundance or relevance of methane oxidizing bacteria (MOB), either directly (e.g. via analysis of bacterial lipids) or indirectly (e.g. via reconstructions of the past relevance of MOB in invertebrate diet). However, only limited information is availabl…
Land Use Affects Carbon Sources to the Pelagic Food Web in a Small Boreal Lake
Small humic forest lakes often have high contributions of methane-derived carbon in their food webs but little is known about the temporal stability of this carbon pathway and how it responds to environmental changes on longer time scales. We reconstructed past variations in the contribution of methanogenic carbon in the pelagic food web of a small boreal lake in Finland by analyzing the stable carbon isotopic composition (δ13C values) of chitinous fossils of planktivorous invertebrates in sediments from the lake. The δ13C values of zooplankton remains show several marked shifts (approx. 10 ‰), consistent with changes in the proportional contribution of carbon from methane-oxidizing bacteri…
The stable isotope composition of organic and inorganic fossils in lake sediment records: current understanding, challenges, and future directions
This paper provides an overview of stable isotope analysis (H, C, N, O, Si) of the macro- and microscopic remains from aquatic organisms found in lake sediment records and their application in (palaeo)environmental science. Aquatic organisms, including diatoms, macrophytes, invertebrates, and fish, can produce sufficiently robust remains that preserve well as fossils and can be identified in lake sediment records. Stable isotope analyses of these remains can then provide valuable insights into habitat-specific biogeochemistry, feeding ecology, but also on climatic and hydrological changes in and around lakes. Since these analyses focus on the remains of known and identified organisms, they …
How warm? How wet? Hydroclimate reconstruction of the past 7500 years in northern Carpathians, Romania
Abstract As natural and anthropogenic ecosystems are dependent on the local water availability, understanding past changes in hydroclimate represents a priority in research concerning past climate variability. Here, we used testate amoebae (TA) and chironomid analysis on a radiocarbon dated complex of small pond and peat bog sediment profiles from an ombrotrophic bog (Taul Muced, northern Carpathians, Romania) to quantitatively determine major hydrological changes and July air temperature over the last 7500 years. Wet mire surface conditions with a pH between 2.3 and 4.5 were inferred for the periods 4500–2700 and 1300–400 cal yr BP by the occurrence of Archerella flavum , Amphitrema wright…
Flotsam samples can help explain the δ13C and δ15N values of invertebrate resting stages in lake sediment
The stable isotopic composition of chitinous remains of Cladocera (water fleas) and freshwater Bryozoa (moss animals) preserved in lake sediment records can provide supporting insights into past environmental and ecosystem changes in lakes. Here we explore whether analyses of these remains isolated from lake flotsam can provide information on the driving variables affecting the isotopic composition of these remains. We collected flotsam in 53 lakes and found enough material in 33 lakes to measure the stable carbon and nitrogen isotope ratios (expressed as δ13C and δ15N values, respectively) of resting stages. These values were compared with lake characteristics, water chemistry measurements…
Flotsam samples can help explain the δ13C and δ15N values of invertebrate resting stages in lake sediment
Abstract The stable isotopic composition of chitinous remains of Cladocera (water fleas) and freshwater Bryozoa (moss animals) preserved in lake sediment records can provide supporting insights into past environmental and ecosystem changes in lakes. Here we explore whether analyses of these remains isolated from lake flotsam can provide information on the driving variables affecting the isotopic composition of these remains. We collected flotsam in 53 lakes and found enough material in 33 lakes to measure the stable carbon and nitrogen isotope ratios (expressed as δ13C and δ15N values, respectively) of resting stages. These values were compared with lake characteristics, water chemistry mea…
Variability in δ13C values between individual Daphnia ephippia: Implications for palaeo-studies
The stable carbon isotope ratio (δ13C value) of Daphnia spp. resting egg shells (ephippia) provides information on past changes in Daphnia diet. Measurements are typically performed on samples of ≥20 ephippia, which obscures the range of values associated with individual ephippia. Using a recently developed laser ablation-based technique, we perform multiple δ13C analyses on individual ephippia, which show a high degree of reproducibility (standard deviations 0.1–0.5‰). We further measured δ13C values of 13 ephippia from surface sediments of three Swiss lakes. In the well-oxygenated lake with low methane concentrations, δ13C values are close to values typical for algae (−31.4‰) and the rang…
The lacustrine sediment record of Oberwinkler Maar (Eifel, Germany): Chironomid and macro-remain-based inferences of environmental changes during Oxygen Isotope Stage 3
The lacustrine record of Oberwinkler Maar (Eifel, Germany) is the northernmost continuous record documenting the Weichselian Pleniglacial in central Europe - a period characterized by multiple abrupt climate oscillations known as the Dansgaard/Oeschger cycles. Here, the results of a high-resolution study of chironomid remains are presented, with a focus on the earlier part of Oxygen Isotope Stage (OIS) 3 (60-50 kyr BP) covering four stadial/interstadial cycles. During the stadials, the chironomid fauna of the former lake was dominated by many coldstenothermic chironomid taxa, indicating a cold, oligotrophic lake. The concentrations of chironomid remains were lower during the interstadials, …
Subfossil chironomid assemblages in deep, stratified European lakes: relationships with temperature, trophic state and oxygen
Summary 1. The distributions of subfossil remains of chironomid larvae in 28 large, deep and stratified lakes in Europe were examined in surface sediments along a latitudinal transect ranging from northern Sweden to southern Italy. 2. Canonical correspondence analysis (CCA) showed that summer surface water and July air temperature, as well as total phosphorus (TP) concentrations, hypolimnetic oxygen availability and conductivity were statistically significant (P < 0.05) explanatory variables explaining between 11 and 14% of the variance in the chironomid data. 3. Owing to the spatial scale covered by our study, many environmental variables were covarying. Temperature, TP concentration and o…
Spatiotemporal patterns in methane flux and gas transfer velocity at low wind speeds: Implications for upscaling studies on small lakes
Lakes contribute significantly to the global natural emissions of methane (CH4) and carbon dioxide. However, to accurately incorporate them into the continental carbon balance more detailed surveys of lacustrine greenhouse gas emissions are needed, especially in respect to spatiotemporal variability and to how this affects the upscaling of results. We investigated CH4 flux from a small, wind-shielded lake during 10 field trips over a 14 month period. We show that floating chambers may be used to calibrate the relationship between gas transfer velocity (k) and wind speed at 10 m height (U10) to the local system, in order to obtain more accurate estimates of diffusive CH4 flux than by applyin…
Trophic state changes can affect the importance of methane-derived carbon in aquatic food webs
Methane-derived carbon, incorporated by methane-oxidizing bacteria, has been identified as a significant source of carbon in food webs of many lakes. By measuring the stable carbon isotopic composition (δ13C values) of particulate organic matter, Chironomidae andDaphniaspp. and their resting eggs (ephippia), we show that methane-derived carbon presently plays a relevant role in the food web of hypertrophic Lake De Waay, The Netherlands. Sediment geochemistry, diatom analyses and δ13C measurements of chironomid andDaphniaremains in the lake sediments indicate that oligotrophication and re-eutrophication of the lake during the twentieth century had a strong impact on in-lake oxygen availabili…