Foredune dynamics at a Lake Michigan site during rising and high lake levels

Abstract Water-level fluctuations are critical in maintaining the diversity of plant communities in Great Lakes wetlands. Sedge/grass meadows are especially sensitive to such fluctuations. We conducted vegetation sampling in a sedge/grass-dominated Lake Michigan drowned-river-mouth wetland in 1995, 2002, and 2010 that followed high lake levels in 1986 and 1997. We also conducted photointerpretation studies in 16 years dating back to 1965 to include responses to high lake level in 1952 and 1974. Topographic/bathymetric data were collected to assess their influence on areal extent of sedge/grass meadow. Dominant species in short emergent and submersed/floating plant communities changed with water availability from 1995 to extreme low lake levels in 2002 and 2010. Sedge/grass meadow was dominated by Calamagrostis canadensis and Carex stricta in all years sampled, but Importance Values differed among years partly due to sampling in newly exposed areas. Photointerpretation studies showed a significant relation between percent of wetland in sedge/grass meadow and summer lake level, as well as the number of years since an extreme high lake level. From the topographic/bathymetric map created, we calculated the cumulative area above each 0.2-m contour to determine the percent of wetland dewatered in select years following extreme high lake levels. When compared with percent sedge/grass meadow in those years, relative changes in both predicted land surface and sedge/grass meadow demonstrated that accuracy of lake level as a predictor of area of sedge/grass meadow is dependent on topography/bathymetry. Our results regarding relations of plant-community response to hydrology are applicable to other Great Lakes wetlands.

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Glacial and lake fluctuations in the area of the west Kunlun mountains during the last 45 000 years

Annals of Glaciology ◽

10.1017/s0260305500004857 ◽

1992 ◽

Vol 16 ◽

pp. 79-84 ◽

Cited By ~ 17

Author(s):

Liu Chaohai ◽

Li Shijie ◽

Shi Yafeng

Keyword(s):

Lacustrine Sediments ◽

Southern Slope ◽

Lake Levels ◽

Humid Climate ◽

The West ◽

Kunlun Mountains ◽

West Kunlun ◽

High Lake Levels ◽

The Last Glacial Maximum ◽

The Last Glacial

There appear to have been several important glacial advances on the southern slope of the west Kunlun mountains, Tibetan Plateau, since 45 000 a BP. Based on the record of alternating till and lacustrine sediments and 14C determinations, these advances are dated to 23 000–16 000, 8500–8000, and 4000–2500 a BP, and to the 16th–19th century AD, with regional variations occurring during each of the advances. The glaciation of 23 000–16 000 a BP is equivalent to the last glacial maximum (LGM) and its scope and scale were much larger than any of the others. Lake changes are a response to both tectonic uplift of the plateau and global climatic change. With regard to the latter, both changes in precipitation and changes in the extent of glaciation can affect lake levels. High lake levels occurred during interstadial conditions between 40 000 and 30 000 a BP, when the area experienced a relatively warm and humid climate, and during the LGM, between 21 000 and 15 000 a BP. During the Holocene, lakes have been shrinking gradually, coincident with the dry climate of this period of time.

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Glacial and lake fluctuations in the area of the west Kunlun mountains during the last 45 000 years

Annals of Glaciology ◽

10.3189/1992aog16-1-79-84 ◽

1992 ◽

Vol 16 ◽

pp. 79-84 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Liu Chaohai ◽

Li Shijie ◽

Shi Yafeng

Keyword(s):

Lacustrine Sediments ◽

Southern Slope ◽

Lake Levels ◽

Humid Climate ◽

The West ◽

Kunlun Mountains ◽

West Kunlun ◽

High Lake Levels ◽

The Last Glacial Maximum ◽

The Last Glacial

There appear to have been several important glacial advances on the southern slope of the west Kunlun mountains, Tibetan Plateau, since 45 000 a BP. Based on the record of alternating till and lacustrine sediments and 14C determinations, these advances are dated to 23 000–16 000, 8500–8000, and 4000–2500 a BP, and to the 16th–19th century AD, with regional variations occurring during each of the advances. The glaciation of 23 000–16 000 a BP is equivalent to the last glacial maximum (LGM) and its scope and scale were much larger than any of the others.Lake changes are a response to both tectonic uplift of the plateau and global climatic change. With regard to the latter, both changes in precipitation and changes in the extent of glaciation can affect lake levels. High lake levels occurred during interstadial conditions between 40 000 and 30 000 a BP, when the area experienced a relatively warm and humid climate, and during the LGM, between 21 000 and 15 000 a BP. During the Holocene, lakes have been shrinking gradually, coincident with the dry climate of this period of time.

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Global Maps of Lake-Level Fluctuations since 30,000 yr B.P.

Quaternary Research ◽

10.1016/0033-5894(79)90092-9 ◽

1979 ◽

Vol 12 (1) ◽

pp. 83-118 ◽

Cited By ~ 415

Author(s):

F. Alayne Street ◽

A. T. Grove

Keyword(s):

Lake Level ◽

Ice Sheets ◽

Literature Survey ◽

Sea Surface ◽

Lake Levels ◽

Lake Level Fluctuations ◽

Average Abundance ◽

The Tropics ◽

High Lake Levels ◽

Precipitation And Temperature

This paper presents selected world maps of lake-level fluctuations since 30,000 yr B.P. These are based on a literature survey of 141 lake basins with radiocarbon-dated chronologies. The resulting patterns are subcontinental in scale and show orderly variations in space and time. They reflect substantial changes in continental precipitation, evaporation, and runoff, which are due to glacial/interglacial fluctuations in the atmospheric and oceanic circulations. In the tropics, high lake levels are essentially an interglacial or interstadial phenomenon, although there are important exceptions. Since extensive lakes during the Holocene corresponded with relatively high sea-surface temperatures, and therefore presumably with high evaporation rates on land, they are interpreted as the result of higher precipitation. Tropical aridity culminated in most areas at, or just after, the glacial maximum, although the present day is also characterized by a below-average abundance of surface water. In extratropical regions the mapped patterns are more complex. They vary markedly with latitude and proximity to major ice sheets. In these areas, evidence is at present insufficient to evaluate the relative contributions of precipitation and temperature to the observed lake-level record.

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Deglaciation, lake levels, and meltwater discharge in the Lake Michigan basin

Quaternary Science Reviews ◽

10.1016/0277-3791(94)90007-8 ◽

1994 ◽

Vol 13 (9-10) ◽

pp. 879-890 ◽

Cited By ~ 26

Author(s):

S.M. Colman ◽

J.A. Clark ◽

L. Clayton ◽

A.K. Hansel ◽

C.E. Larsen

Keyword(s):

Lake Michigan ◽

Michigan Basin ◽

Lake Levels

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Constraining Holocene lake levels and coastal dune activity in the Lake Michigan basin

Journal of Paleolimnology ◽

10.1007/s10933-010-9460-2 ◽

2010 ◽

Vol 47 (3) ◽

pp. 373-390 ◽

Cited By ~ 8

Author(s):

Timothy G. Fisher ◽

Kelly A. Weyer ◽

Amber M. Boudreau ◽

James M. Martin-Hayden ◽

David E. Krantz ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Lake Michigan ◽

Coastal Dune ◽

Michigan Basin ◽

Lake Levels ◽

Dune Activity

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Holocene Fluctuations of a Meromictic Lake in Southern British Columbia

Quaternary Research ◽

10.1006/qres.1997.1905 ◽

1997 ◽

Vol 48 (1) ◽

pp. 100-113 ◽

Cited By ~ 32

Author(s):

David J. Lowe ◽

John D. Green ◽

Tom G. Northcote ◽

Ken J. Hall

Keyword(s):

Saline Lake ◽

Basal Layer ◽

Climatic Changes ◽

Depositional Environments ◽

Laminated Sediments ◽

Lake Depth ◽

Lake Levels ◽

Short Term ◽

Northwestern North America ◽

High Lake Levels

Holocene deposits of Mahoney Lake, a meromictic saline lake located in a closed basin in the semi-arid Okanagan Valley, contain evidence of frequent and marked changes in lake depth (up to >12 m/10014C yr) probably caused by short-term changes in effective precipitation. We studied a 5.45-m-long core comprising a basal layer of inorganic mud overlain by a succession of layers of calcareous laminated and nonlaminated organic mud, marl, and sand. We used Mazama tephra to adjust nine radiocarbon ages for the hardwater effect. Meromixis developed ca. 900014C yr B.P., and the lake has been episodically meromictic for about half the time since. Because of close linkages between sediments and depositional environments in meromictic and saline lakes, we infer that laminated sediments indicate meromictic conditions and high lake levels (>ca. 12 m water depth), whereas thick marl layers and nonlaminated sediments indicate nonmeromictic conditions and thus low lake levels (<ca. 8 m depth). Many of the inferred short-term climatic changes have not been identified in previous studies in northwestern North America, perhaps because of insensitive climatic proxies, inadequate temporal resolution, or discounting of anomalous findings.

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