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    The geodynamic and limnological evolution of Balkan Lake Ohrid, possibly the oldest extant lake in Europe
    (Oxford : Wiley-Blackwell, 2022) Wagner, Bernd; Tauber, Paul; Francke, Alexander; Leicher, Niklas; Binnie, Steven A.; Cvetkoska, Aleksandra; Jovanovska, Elena; Just, Janna; Lacey, Jack H.; Levkov, Zlatko; Lindhorst, Katja; Kouli, Katerina; Krastel, Sebastian; Panagiotopoulos, Konstantinos; Ulfers, Arne; Zaova, Dušica; Donders, Timme H.; Grazhdani, Andon; Koutsodendris, Andreas; Leng, Melanie J.; Sadori, Laura; Scheinert, Mirko; Vogel, Hendrik; Wonik, Thomas; Zanchetta, Giovanni; Wilke, Thomas
    Studies of the upper 447 m of the DEEP site sediment succession from central Lake Ohrid, Balkan Peninsula, North Macedonia and Albania provided important insights into the regional climate history and evolutionary dynamics since permanent lacustrine conditions established at 1.36 million years ago (Ma). This paper focuses on the entire 584-m-long DEEP sediment succession and a comparison to a 197-m-long sediment succession from the Pestani site ~5 km to the east in the lake, where drilling ended close to the bedrock, to unravel the earliest history of Lake Ohrid and its basin development. 26Al/10Be dating of clasts from the base of the DEEP sediment succession implies that the sedimentation in the modern basin started at c. 2 Ma. Geophysical, sedimentological and micropalaeontological data allow for chronological information to be transposed from the DEEP to the Pestani succession. Fluvial conditions, slack water conditions, peat formation and/or complete desiccation prevailed at the DEEP and Pestani sites until 1.36 and 1.21 Ma, respectively, before a larger lake extended over both sites. Activation of karst aquifers to the east probably by tectonic activity and a potential existence of neighbouring Lake Prespa supported filling of Lake Ohrid. The lake deepened gradually, with a relatively constant vertical displacement rate of ~0.2 mm a−1 between the central and the eastern lateral basin and with greater water depth presumably during interglacial periods. Although the dynamic environment characterized by local processes and the fragmentary chronology of the basal sediment successions from both sites hamper palaeoclimatic significance prior to the existence of a larger lake, the new data provide an unprecedented and detailed picture of the geodynamic evolution of the basin and lake that is Europe’s presumed oldest extant freshwater lake.
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    An astronomical age-depth model and reconstruction of moisture availability in the sediments of Lake Chalco, central Mexico, using borehole logging data
    (Oxford [u.a.] : Elsevier, 2022) Sardar Abadi, Mehrdad; Zeeden, Christian; Ulfers, Arne; Wonik, Thomas
    Understanding the moisture history of low latitudes from the most recent glacial period of the latest Pleistocene to post-glacial warmth in continental tropical regions is hampered by the lack of continuous time series. We conducted downhole spectral gamma (γ) ray and magnetic susceptibility logs over 300 m of lacustrine deposits of Lake Chalco (Mexico City) to reconstruct an age-depth model using an astronomical and correlative approach, and to reconstruct long-term moisture availability. Our results suggest that the Lake Chalco sediments contain several rhythmic alternations with a quasi-cyclic pattern comparable to the Pleistocene benthic stack. This allows us to calculate a time span of about 500,000 years for this sediment deposition. We developed proxies for moisture, detrital input, and salinity, all based on the physical properties of γ-ray spectroscopy and magnetic susceptibility. Our results indicate that Lake Chalco formed during Marine Isotope Stage 13 (MIS13) and the lake level gradually increased over time until the interglacial MIS9. Moisture content is generally higher during interglacials than during glacials. However, two periods, namely MIS6 and MIS4, have higher moisture contents. We developed a model by comparing the obtained moisture proxy with climatic drivers, to understand how different climate systems drove effective moisture availability in the Chalco sub-basin over the past 500,000 years. Carbon dioxide, eccentricity, and precession are all key drivers of the moisture content of Lake Chalco over the past 500,000 years.