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A model for inferring dissolved organic carbon (DOC) in lakewater from visible-near-infrared spectroscopy (VNIRS) measures in lake sediment

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Abstract

We developed an inference model to infer dissolved organic carbon (DOC) in lakewater from lake sediments using visible-near-infrared spectroscopy (VNIRS). The inference model used surface sediment samples collected from 160 Arctic Canada lakes, covering broad latitudinal (60–83°N), longitudinal (71–138°W) and environmental gradients, with a DOC range of 0.6–39.6 mg L−1. The model was applied to Holocene lake sediment cores from Sweden and Canada and our inferences are compared to results from previous multiproxy paleolimnological investigations at these two sites. The inferred Swedish and Canadian DOC profiles are compared, respectively, to inferences from a Swedish-based VNIRS-total organic carbon (TOC) model and a Canadian-based diatom-inferred (Di-DOC) model from the same sediment records. The 5-component Partial Least Squares (PLS) model yields a cross-validated (CV) \( R_{CV}^{2} \) = 0.61 and a root mean squared error of prediction (RMSEP CV ) = 4.4 mg L−1 (11% of DOC gradient). The trends inferred for the two lakes were remarkably similar to the VNIRS-TOC and the Di-DOC inferred profiles and consistent with the other paleolimnological proxies, although absolute values differed. Differences in the calibration set gradients and lack of analogous VNIRS signatures in the modern datasets may explain this discrepancy. Our results corroborate previous geographically independent studies on the potential of using VNIRS to reconstruct past trends in lakewater DOC concentrations rapidly.

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Acknowledgments

This study was funded by the NSERC (Ottawa, Canada), CIRC, Umeå University and through the CGS-MSFSS program. We thank J. Thienpont, M. Pisaric and S. Kokelj for providing the Inuvik sediments, as well as the many field crews who assisted in various sampling programs. We also thank K. Rühland for sharing data and knowledge on Slipper Lake, A. Holmgren for her help with the VNIRS analyses in Umeå, C. Grooms for his technical assistance, N. Michelutti and the PEARL, CEN, CIRC and EMG research groups for their support, as well as B. F. Cumming and S. Lamoureux and two anonymous reviewers for their constructive comments on the manuscript.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Paleoecological Environmental Assessment and Research Laboratory, Department of Biology, Queen’s University, Kingston, ON, K7L 3N6, Canada

    Alexandra Rouillard & John P. Smol

  2. Climate Impacts Research Centre, Umeå University, 981 07, Abisko, Sweden

    Peter Rosén

  3. Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, T6G 2E1, Canada

    Marianne S. V. Douglas

  4. Aquatic Paleoecology Laboratory, Centre d’Études Nordiques (CEN), Université Laval, Québec, QC, G1V 0A6, Canada

    Reinhard Pienitz

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  1. Alexandra Rouillard
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Correspondence to Alexandra Rouillard.

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Rouillard, A., Rosén, P., Douglas, M.S.V. et al. A model for inferring dissolved organic carbon (DOC) in lakewater from visible-near-infrared spectroscopy (VNIRS) measures in lake sediment. J Paleolimnol 46, 187–202 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10933-011-9527-8

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