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Quantifying conditions required for varve formation in meromictic Crawford Lake, Ontario, Canada: important process for delimiting the Anthropocene epoch

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Abstract

Varved sediments in meromictic Crawford Lake consist of dark–light couplets of organic matter (primarily phytoplankton and amorphous organic matter) capped by calcite crystals. The crystals precipitate in the alkaline epilimnion between spring and fall turnover, consistent with Langelier Saturation Index calculations that predict calcite precipitation when pH and temperature exceed 7.76 and ~ 15 °C, respectively. Climate, primary production, and the pH of the epilimnion control lamina thickness: acid rain primarily affects the precipitation and accumulation of calcite crystals, whereas both endogenic calcite and authigenic organic matter are affected by climate and primary production. Thin varves, often with barely perceptible light-coloured calcite laminae were deposited between the late 1940s and mid-1970s, when the pH of the epilimnion fell slightly in response to deterioration in air and water quality associated with rapid industrialization. Conditions required for precipitation of calcite laminae were absent during the sixteenth to mid-nineteenth centuries, an interval corresponding to the Little Ice Age when no human impact affected the catchment. Varves dating from 1867 CE onwards (the Canadian Zone) facilitate the candidacy of the deep basin sediments of Crawford Lake to define the Anthropocene epoch.

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Modified from Lafond et al. (2023)

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Modified from McCarthy et al. (2023)

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Acknowledgements

A. Alderson, A. Heyde and P.M. Pilkington (Brock University), B. O’Reilly (Conservation Halton), and J.H. McAndrews and S. Finkelstein (University of Toronto) provided field assistance and M. Lozon (Brock University) assisted with drafting. We acknowledge financial support from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (F.M., R.T.P., M.J.H., M.P., K.T. and J.B.) and Haus der Kulturen der Welt (F.M.), from Brock University for subsidizing the MSc research of B.L.-W. and postdoctoral appointment of N.R., and from N. Ghazi (E3 Laboratories) for subsidizing analytical costs. Logistical support and permission to perform these analyses and in-kind support from Conservation Halton is gratefully acknowledged. Crawford Lake is located on the traditional territory of the Attawandaron, Wendat, Haudenosaunee and Anishinaabe peoples. We gratefully acknowledge the input of reviewers, notably Dr. Chad Wittkop (Minnesota State University), whose suggestions improved the manuscript.

Funding

The research was funded by NSERC Discovery grants to F. McCarthy, R.T. Patterson, M.J. Head, M. Pisaric, K. Turner and J. Boyce. We acknowledge the Haus der Kulturen der Welt (HKW), Berlin for collaborating with the Anthropocene Working Group in the assessment of the candidate GSSP-sites, which led to this associated project and made use of data from several cores collected as part of that evaluation. Several other institutions have provided in-kind or financial support, including Conservation Halton, Brock University, Carleton University, the Canadian Museum of Nature and the Royal Ontario Museum.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Earth Sciences, Brock University, St. Catharines, ON, L2S 3A1, Canada

    Brendan M. Llew-Williams, Francine M. G. McCarthy, Nicholas L. Riddick, Martin J. Head & Uwe Brand

  2. Department of Biological Sciences, Brock University, St. Catharines, ON, Canada

    Andrea M. Krueger

  3. OSPM Solutions, Hamilton, ON, Canada

    Michael D. MacKinnon

  4. Ottawa-Carleton Geoscience Center and Department of Earth Sciences, Carleton University, Ottawa, ON, Canada

    Krysten M. Lafond, R. Timothy Patterson & Nawaf A. Nasser

  5. Department of Geography and Tourism Studies, Brock University, St. Catharines, ON, Canada

    Michael F. J. Pisaric & Kevin W. Turner

  6. School of Earth, Environment and Society, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada

    Joseph I. Boyce

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  1. Brendan M. Llew-Williams
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Contributions

BL-W and FM wrote the main manuscript text, BL-W performed all hydrological analysis under the supervision of FM and with guidance from KT, UB, MJH and MM. AK assisted with sediment trap analysis and sediment core analysis was performed by NR, JB, and KL. RTP, NN, MP and MM assisted with field sampling and radiocarbon analysis. All figures were prepared by BL-W with assistance from FM, MJH and draftsman ML other than Figs. 2 and S4 by KL, and Figs. 8 and 9 by NR, JB and NN. All authors reviewed the manuscript.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Francine M. G. McCarthy.

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Conflict of interest

This research was conducted as part of a proposal to the Anthropocene Working Group (AWG) that Crawford Lake be nominated as the Global boundary Stratotype Section and Point (GSSP). Details of these activities are available in Waters et al. (2023).

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Llew-Williams, B.M., McCarthy, F.M.G., Krueger, A.M. et al. Quantifying conditions required for varve formation in meromictic Crawford Lake, Ontario, Canada: important process for delimiting the Anthropocene epoch. J Paleolimnol 71, 101–124 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10933-023-00304-w

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