Use of natural and artificial radionuclides to determine the sedimentation rates in two North Caucasus lakes

Kuzmenkova, N. V.; Ivanov, M.; Alexandrin, Mikhail Y.; Grachev, Alexi M.; Rozhkova, A. K.; Zhizhin, Kirill D.; Grabenko, Evgeniy A; Golosov, Valentin

doi:10.1016/j.envpol.2020.114269

Cited by 17 publications

(7 citation statements)

References 58 publications

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“…In the western part of the Greater Caucasus's northern slope with wetter (more forested) landscapes (see Table 1; Figure 1), the opposite tendency (but statistically insignificant) toward an increase in sediment load/yield in local rivers has been observed in the last decades (see Table 2). A commensurate rise in mechanical denudation rates in the western part of the Greater Caucasus was also indicated by [80] based on sedimentation rates in two small lakes in this region from the 1960s to the present.…”

Section: Neighboring River Basins Of the North Caucasus Regionmentioning

confidence: 69%

Contemporary Long-Term Trends in Water Discharge, Suspended Sediment Load, and Erosion Intensity in River Basins of the North Caucasus Region, SW Russia

2021

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For the first time, contemporary trends in water discharge, suspended sediment load, and the intensity of overall erosion in the river basins of the North Caucasus region, as one of Russia’s most agriculturally developed geographic areas, were identified. The study was carried out using monitoring data of the Federal Service for Hydrometeorology and Environmental Monitoring of the country for 21 rivers by comparing two periods: 1963–1980 and 2008–2017. According to the study’s results, trends of an increase in the mean annual water discharge (by 2–97%) and the essential reduction in its intra-annual variability have been found in most of the studied rivers. On the contrary, the trends of reduction in annual suspended sediment load and the intensity of erosion in the river basins were identified in most of the study region. Their most essential and statistically significant decreases (by 47–94%) were recorded within the Stavropol Upland, which several decades ago was considered one of the most erosion-dangerous territories of the entire country, as well as in some river basins of the central part of the Greater Caucasus’s northern slope (by 17–94%). The changes in climate (reducing the depth of soil freezing and meltwater runoff on the soil) and land use/cover (reduction of acreage and load (pressure) of agricultural machinery on the soil, reducing livestock on pastures, and the transfer of water from the neighboring, more full-flowing rivers) are considered the leading causes of the aforementioned trends. The findings will contribute to solving some economic and environmental problems of both the region and adjacent territories and water areas.

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Section: Neighboring River Basins Of the North Caucasus Regionmentioning

confidence: 69%

Contemporary Long-Term Trends in Water Discharge, Suspended Sediment Load, and Erosion Intensity in River Basins of the North Caucasus Region, SW Russia

2021

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“…Dating using 210 Pb was validated by independent measurements of 137 Cs activity allowing identification of the layer corresponding to 137 Cs fallout after the Chernobyl accident in 1986. Ten 0.5 cm sections of the core (in the depth interval 0–5 cm) were analyzed for total 210 Pb activity and the corresponding data points for the inferred ages that were previously published in Kuzmenkova et al (2020) appear in Figure 3.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Measurements to determine the radiocarbon age were performed using standard protocol through the cooperation agreement with the University of Georgia (USA). The age-depth model for Lake Khuko (Figure 3) is based on a combination of radiocarbon dating and 210 Pb results published in Kuzmenkova et al (2020). The model was created with the Bacon algorithm using Bayesian probability (Blaauw and Christen, 2011) and R statistical software (R Core Team, 2014).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The uppermost part of the sediment core from Lake Khuko was radiometrically dated using 210 Pb and 137 Cs (see the details in Kuzmenkova et al, 2020). Dating using 210 Pb was validated by independent measurements of 137 Cs activity allowing identification of the layer corresponding to 137 Cs fallout after the Chernobyl accident in 1986.…”

Section: Gamma Spectrometry Ams Dating the Age-depth Modelmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…According to the position of the peak in the upper 0.5 cm, the maximum period of formation of this layer can be estimated at 30 years (year of sampling: 2016). Thus, the maximum accumulation rate for the uppermost layer is 0.0017 mm/year (see the details in Kuzmenkova et al, 2020).…”

Section: Core Chronology and Accumulation Ratementioning

confidence: 99%

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The Holocene paleoenvironmental history of Western Caucasus (Russia) reconstructed by multi-proxy analysis of the continuous sediment sequence from Lake Khuko

et al. 2020

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This paper presents new multi-proxy records of the Holocene environmental and climatic changes in the Western Caucasus revealed from a continuous sediment sequence from mountainous Lake Khuko (Caucasus State Natural Biospheric Reserve, 1744 m a.s.l.). Palaeoecological analyses of a sediment core for grain size, magnetic susceptibility, loss on ignition, and pollen allowed us to determine five principal climatic phases with several subphases since 10.5 ka BP. The age model is based on seven accelerator mass spectrometry 14C dates, supplemented by 210Pb data for the uppermost part of the sediment core. Warm periods (10.5–6.7, 6.7–5.5, 3.5–2.4, 0.8–0.5 ka BP) were characterized by high biological productivity in the lake as indicated by high organic matter content and expansion of forests, typical of modern low and middle mountain zones, as indicated by the increase in abundance of Quercus, Ulmus, Corylus, and Tilia in the pollen assemblages. Cold periods (5.5–3.5, 2.4–0.8, and 0.5 ka BP–present) are marked by a consistent decrease in organic matter content in lake deposits and possibly higher intensity of the catchment erosion. The changes in pollen assemblages (for instance peaks of Abies, Picea, and Pinus) suggested a potential elevational decline in the boundaries of vegetation belts and expansion of high-altitude woodlands. Abrupt changes in the lake ecosystem were identified between 4.2 and 3.5 ka cal BP marked by a short-term variation in sediment regime shown by variation in organic matter content, magnetic susceptibility values, and sediment grain size. This was probably caused by climatic fluctuations in the Western Caucasus region as a result of complex shifts in the ocean-atmosphere system during the 4.2 ka event. Overall, the first Holocene multi-proxy continuous lake sediment record provides new insights into the climate history in the Western Caucasus.

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Levels and Behavior of Environmental Radioactivity

Garcı́a-León

2022

Detecting Environmental Radioactivity

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Use of natural and artificial radionuclides to determine the sedimentation rates in two North Caucasus lakes

Cited by 17 publications

References 58 publications

Contemporary Long-Term Trends in Water Discharge, Suspended Sediment Load, and Erosion Intensity in River Basins of the North Caucasus Region, SW Russia

Contemporary Long-Term Trends in Water Discharge, Suspended Sediment Load, and Erosion Intensity in River Basins of the North Caucasus Region, SW Russia

The Holocene paleoenvironmental history of Western Caucasus (Russia) reconstructed by multi-proxy analysis of the continuous sediment sequence from Lake Khuko

Levels and Behavior of Environmental Radioactivity

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