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The paleohydrology of Sluice Pond, NE Massachusetts, and its regional significance

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Abstract

Seismic, pollen, stable isotope and lithologic stratigraphies of Sluice Pond, northeastern Massachusetts, were investigated to reconstruct local climate conditions from the latest Pleistocene to present. We present a new lake-level curve, constrained largely by acoustic reflectors and well-dated sediment cores from the deep basin and margin of the lake. Bulk δ34S data from the basin core provide valuable information regarding anoxia and water-column stratification. The lake-level history is corroborated with pollen-based, transfer-function-derived reconstructions of temperature and precipitation from the basin core. The lower stratigraphy reveals a time of cold/dry climate from ca. 11.7–8.2 ka BP (1 ka = 1,000 cal yr), with a minor lake-level increase centered at ca. 11.0 ka BP. An increase in regional temperature/moisture is apparent in sediments younger than 8.2 ka BP. A warm/dry climate is reconstructed from ca. 5.1–3.5 ka BP, concomitant with the well-established regional Tsuga (eastern hemlock) minimum. Sediments deposited since 3.5 ka BP reveal a general deepening of the pond and organic-rich conditions, with another minor dry episode from ca. 2.0–1.3 ka BP. Uppermost sediments record anthropogenic disturbance. The hydroclimate variability inferred from the Sluice Pond sediment record is consistent with previous reconstructions of lake level and vegetation in the southern portion of the northeastern US. It is not, however, consistent with reconstructions from locations farther north, many of which possess evidence of a dry period ca. 9.0–5.0 ka BP. The likely explanation for this discrepancy lies in air mass distribution associated with the position and amplitude of the circumpolar vortex throughout the Holocene. This new record of Holocene regional hydroclimate variability adds to the spatial coverage of existing reconstructions, and helps constrain forcings associated with such variability.

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Acknowledgments

We thank the Donors of the American Chemical Society Petroleum Research Fund for partial support of this research (PRF49438-UNI8). Additional funding was secured through NSF (EAR 1126128) and the Salem State University (SSU) Research Advisory Committee. JBH acknowledges support from the SSU Academic Affairs Office, SSU College of Arts and Sciences Dean’s Office, the Sluice Pond Association, J Sorenson (USGS), D Cares, M Delea, D Sutherland, KCH, JCH, and LTH. FMGM acknowledges the support of NSERC and the assistance of M Lozon with drafting, and the laboratory assistance of A Krueger and R Zanatta, Brock University. We thank M Brenner, O Heiri, and two anonymous reviewers for constructive suggestions that improved the final contribution.

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Author notes

  1. Jonathan Lewis

    Present address: ARCADIS U.S., 1004 North Big Spring Street, Midland, TX, 79701, USA

  2. Cameron Morissette

    Present address: Alpine Ocean Seismic Survey, 155 Hudson Avenue, Norwood, NJ, 07648, USA

  3. Nicole M. Hudson

    Present address: TRC Environmental Corp., 650 Suffolk Street, Lowell, MA, 01854, USA

  4. Mary Lynne Crispo

    Present address: Chesapeake Energy Corporation, Health Building #2, 825 NW 58th, Oklahoma City, OK, 73118, USA

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Geological Sciences, Salem State University, 352 Lafayette Street, Salem, MA, 01970, USA

    J. Bradford Hubeny, Jonathan Lewis, Cameron Morissette, Nicole M. Hudson & Mary Lynne Crispo

  2. Earth Sciences Department, Brock University, 500 Glenridge Avenue, St. Catharines, ON, L2S 3A1, Canada

    Francine M. G. McCarthy & Matea Drljepan

  3. Graduate School of Oceanography, University of Rhode Island, 215 South Ferry Road, Narragansett, RI, 02882, USA

    John W. King

  4. Atlantic Ecology Division, US Environmental Protection Agency, 27 Tarzwell Drive, Narragansett, RI, 02882, USA

    Mark Cantwell

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Hubeny, J.B., McCarthy, F.M.G., Lewis, J. et al. The paleohydrology of Sluice Pond, NE Massachusetts, and its regional significance. J Paleolimnol 53, 271–287 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10933-015-9824-8

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