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Trace metal and geochemical variability during 5,500 years in the sediment of Lake Lehmilampi, Finland

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Abstract

A high-resolution geochemical profile from a 5,500-year-old sediment core of Lake Lehmilampi in eastern Finland was analyzed to study long-term trends and variability in element concentrations and accumulation rates. The accumulation rates of all studied elements followed the same trend, responding to changes in the total sedimentation rate. Concentration profiles differed among elements and showed considerable variation over time. Principal components analysis (PCA) was used on the concentration data to identify groups of elements that have similar geochemical controls. The first principal component was influenced by changes in mineral matter accumulation, and it incorporated elements that are associated with stable allochthonous minerals (such as Mg, K, Cs, Rb, Li, Ti and Ga), as well as elements in forms that become diluted when mineral matter increases (e.g., S, Fe and Mn). The second and third principal components showed that a large proportion of the variance was accounted for by elements with continuously increasing or decreasing concentrations related to pedogenetical development of the catchment soil. In the case of Hg, Pb and Cd, however, accumulation rates increased faster at the surface than is simply accounted for by changes in total sedimentation rates. For Cu, Cr, Ni and Zn, concentrations increased over the past 150 years, but there were no indications of a significant addition due to atmospheric deposition. These elements had more variable concentrations before the mid nineteenth century than after, as did elements that are often used for normalization. These findings suggest that lake sediments may not properly reflect the history of atmospheric metal deposition in remote areas.

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Acknowledgments

Financial support for this work was provided by the Graninge Foundation, the Faculty Board at the Linnaeus University, the Knowledge Foundation (KK-stiftelsen) and the Academy of Finland (grant 123724). We would like to thank Jari Mäkinen at the Geological Survey of Finland for proving us with the local till data, and Ullrika Sahlin at the Linnaeus University for her review of the statistical analyses.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Natural Sciences, Linnaeus University, 391 82, Kalmar, Sweden

    Anna Augustsson, Pasi Peltola & Bo Bergbäck

  2. Department of Quaternary Geology, University of Turku, Turku, Finland

    Timo Saarinen

  3. Helmholz Centre Potsdam, GFZ German Research Centre for Geosciences, Potsdam, Germany

    Eeva Haltia-Hovi

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  1. Anna Augustsson
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  2. Pasi Peltola
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Correspondence to Anna Augustsson.

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Augustsson, A., Peltola, P., Bergbäck, B. et al. Trace metal and geochemical variability during 5,500 years in the sediment of Lake Lehmilampi, Finland. J Paleolimnol 44, 1025–1038 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10933-010-9471-z

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