Extent of Sedge/Grass Meadow in a Lake Michigan Drowned-River-Mouth Wetland Dictated by Topography/Bathymetry and Lake Level

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.

Mid-Holocene palaeohydrochemistry and palaeohydrology of Yamdrok Yumtso, southern Tibetan Plateau, reconstructed from δ18O and δ13C of fossil shells of the gastropod Radix auricularia

Palaeohydrochemical and palaeohydrological changes of lakes have seldom been reconstructed from the fossil shells of the gasropod Radix auricularia, which is a new, and potentially high-resolution environnmental archive. We conducted a geochemical and stable isotope study of the shells of Radix from the exposed fluvio-lacustrine sediments near Lake Yamdrok Yumtso in the southern Tibetan Plateau. Our aims were to determine the sedimentary environment, palaeo-lake hydrochemistry and hydrological status. AMS 14C and OSL dating indicates that a lake-level stage of Yamdrok Yumtso higher than that of today occurred during ~4.7–1.2 cal. kyr BP. Results of Sr/Ca, δ13C and δ18O analysis of the fossil shells of Radix auricularia indicate that the lake-level fluctuations were mainly controlled by changes of the Indian Summer Monsoon; decreasing evaporation during the mid- to late-Holocene was also responsible. In addition, based on the geochemical relationship between Radix sp. shells and the ambient water in lakes, the values of δ18OPalaeo-water and Sr/CaPalaeo-water reconstructed using the fossil shells of Radix auricularia are −8.2‰ to −5.1‰ and 0.0012 to 0.0057, respectively. Further, based on the values of δ18Oshell, together with geomorphological evidence, we infer that Yamdrok Yumtso was a closed lake system, and we estimate its possible extent during the interval of high lake-level. In addition, we speculate that the water level of Yamdrok Yumtso at this time exceeded 4448.9 m a.s.l., but was less than 4451 m a.s.l., and that the major separation of various components of the Yamdrok Yumtso system occurred after 1.2 kyr BP.

Sequence Stratigraphy and Geochemistry of Oil Shale Deposits in the Upper Cretaceous Qingshankou Formation of the Songliao Basin, NE China: Implications for the Geological Optimization of In Situ Oil Shale Conversion Processing

The Songliao Basin contains some of the largest volumes of oil shales in China; however, these energy sources are located in areas covered by arable land, meaning that the best way of exploiting them is likely to be environmentally friendly in situ conversion processing (ICP). Whether the oil shales of the Songliao Basin in the Qingshankou Formation are suitable for ICP remain controversial. In this paper, through sequence stratigraphic correlations, three main thick oil shale layers (N1, N2, and N3) of the Sequence1 (Sq1) unit in the first member of Qingshankou Formation (K2qn1) are confirmed as consistently present throughout the Southeastern Uplift region of the basin. The spectral trend attributes reflect that the lake reached a maximum flood surface of the K2qn1 in N2 oil shale layer, and the total organic carbon (TOC) and Fischer assay (FA) oil yield are significantly increasing. The N2 and N3 oil shale layers were deposited in a high lake level environment associated with ingressions of ocean water. The oil shale in these layers with the characteristics of high TOC (maximum of 23.9 wt %; average of 7.2 wt %), abundance of aquatic organic matter (OM) (maximum hydrogen index (HI) of 1080.2 mg/g; average of 889.9 mg/g) and carbonate contents (maximum of 29.5%; average of 15.4%). The N2 and N3 oil shale layers have higher brittleness index (BI) values (generally 40–50%), larger cumulative thicknesses (maximum of 13.3 m; average of 12.0 m), and much higher source potential index (SPI) values (0.92 and 0.88 tHC/m2, respectively) than the N1 oil shale layer within Sq1 transgressive system tracts (TST), indicating that the N2 and N3 layers are prospective targets for ICP. In addition, oil shales buried to depths of <1000 m have strong hydrocarbon generation capacities that make them suitable for ICP.

The characteristics of tight oil sand reservoir-source assemblage in lacustrine basins: A case study of the Cretaceous Qingshankou Formation, Songliao Basin, northeast China

The complicated source-reservoir-assemblage characteristics of lacustrine tight oil sand in China are the main controlling factors of tight reservoir oiliness (i.e., oil richness). Several studies have focused on qualitative description of source-reservoir-assemblage characteristics without quantitative assessment. In this study, reservoir-source-assemblage (RSA) has been evaluated quantitatively by fitting the RSA log in the evaluation of Qijia Depression in the Songliao Basin. Total organic carbon (TOC) and sand volume (Vs) logs are used to fit the RSA log in three steps: (1) TOC and Vs log fitting and normalization, (2) RSA log fitting, and (3) extraction of root-mean-square (rms) amplitude and frequency (Frq(0)) information from the RSA log. The rms represents the reservoir capability and hydrocarbon potential, and Frq(0) represents the interbedding frequency that changes with the lake level. Positive values (0–1] of the RSA log correspond to a high lake level, whereas negative values [[Formula: see text], 0) correspond to a low lake level. Based on RSA log values, we defined the parameter RSAsuf, a product of rms and Frq(0), to quantitatively evaluate the tight oil sweet spot. RSAsurf serves as tight oil sweet spot indicator and correlates positively to oil richness. As a result, four types of effective reservoirs (RI, RII, RIII, and RIV), two types of effective sources (SI and SII), and three types of RSAs (R-S-R, S-R-S, and S-S-R) are identified based on cores and RSA logs. High RSAsuf values on the isoline map indicate the sweet spot zones around the G933 and J392 well areas, which correlates very well with the oilfield test data. The approach is appropriate for lacustrine basins with complicated RSA, in which RSA logs serve as indicator for the sedimentary rhythm, reservoir capability, and hydrocarbon potential.

Reconstruction of the hydrologic history of a shallow Patagonian steppe lake during the past 700 yr, using chemical, geologic, and biological proxies

The limnological conditions during the past 700 yr were reconstructed based on multiproxy analysis of a short sedimentary sequence from El Toro Lake (~40°S, 70°W). Mineralogical and geochemical features, as well as ostracods and chironomids, record hydrologic changes in the El Toro Lake basin. The ostracod Limnocythere rionegroensis var. 1, a reliable indicator of high salinity, and Eucypris fontana, a euryhaline species with preferences for moderate-salinity waters, are studied as paleolimnological proxies. The chironomid fauna indicates less saline conditions in the mid-twentieth century. These salinity changes are interpreted in terms of negative–positive hydrologic balance. High lake level and low salinity between AD 1500 and 1700 match with the wetter and colder climate during the second pulse of the Little Ice Age in northern Patagonia. High-salinity conditions occurred during the late nineteenth century, corresponding to the driest period during the past 400 yr in northeastern Patagonia. An increase in the precipitation around the middle of the twentieth century, in contrast to the records from the Chilean side of the mountains, correlates with a positive phase of the Southern Annular Mode. This is associated, in turn, with a strengthening, poleward shift of the midlatitude westerlies, possibly enhancing easterly moist air flows into central-north Patagonia.

Late Quaternary lake-level changes of Lake El'gygytgyn, NE Siberia

Lake El'gygytgyn is situated in a 3.6 Ma old impact crater in northeastern Siberia. Presented here is a reconstruction of the Quaternary lake-level history as derived from sediment cores from the southern lake shelf. There, a cliff-like bench 10 m below the modern water level has been investigated. Deep-water sediments on the shelf indicate high lake levels during a warm Mid-Pleistocene period. One period with low lake level prior to Marine Oxygen Isotope Stage (MIS) 3 has been identified, followed by a period of high lake level (10 m above present). In the course of MIS 2 the lake level dropped to − 10 m. At the end of MIS 2 the bench was formed and coarse beach sedimentation occurred. Subsequently, the lake level rose rapidly to the Holocene level. Changes in water level are likely linked to climate variability. During relatively temperate periods the lake becomes free of ice in summer. Strong wave actions transport sediment parallel to the coast and towards the outlet, where the material tends to accumulate, resulting in lake level rise. During cold periods the perennial lake ice cover hampers any wave activity and pebble-transport, keeping the outlet open and causing the lake level to drop.