Lake levels in a discontinuous permafrost landscape: Late Holocene variations inferred from sediment oxygen isotopes, Yukon Flats, Alaska
During recent decades, lake levels in the Yukon Flats region of interior Alaska have fluctuated dramatically. However, prior to recorded observations, no data are available to indicate if similar or more extreme variations occurred during past centuries and millennia. This study explores the history...
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ftdoajarticles:oai:doaj.org/article:7c5db1db67f048a6afbed43127b9c909 2023-05-15T14:14:29+02:00 Lake levels in a discontinuous permafrost landscape: Late Holocene variations inferred from sediment oxygen isotopes, Yukon Flats, Alaska Lesleigh Anderson Bruce P. Finney Mark D. Shapley 2018-01-01T00:00:00Z https://doi.org/10.1080/15230430.2018.1496565 https://doaj.org/article/7c5db1db67f048a6afbed43127b9c909 EN eng Taylor & Francis Group http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/15230430.2018.1496565 https://doaj.org/toc/1523-0430 https://doaj.org/toc/1938-4246 1523-0430 1938-4246 doi:10.1080/15230430.2018.1496565 https://doaj.org/article/7c5db1db67f048a6afbed43127b9c909 Arctic, Antarctic, and Alpine Research, Vol 50, Iss 1 (2018) alaska holocene paleoclimate yukon flats lake sediment δ18o thermokarst Environmental sciences GE1-350 Ecology QH540-549.5 article 2018 ftdoajarticles https://doi.org/10.1080/15230430.2018.1496565 2022-12-31T07:37:01Z During recent decades, lake levels in the Yukon Flats region of interior Alaska have fluctuated dramatically. However, prior to recorded observations, no data are available to indicate if similar or more extreme variations occurred during past centuries and millennia. This study explores the history of Yukon Flats lake origins and lake levels for the past approximately 5,500 years from sediment analyses guided by previous work on permafrost extent, thermokarst, and modern isotope hydrology. Sediments dated by 210Pb and AMS radiocarbon indicate stable chronologies following initial lake initiation. Subsequent lithology is autochthonous, and oxygen isotope ratios of endogenic carbonate reflect lake level change at multiple time scales. Sediment results indicate high lake levels between approximately 4000 and 1850 cal yr BP, which is interpreted to reflect wetter-than-modern conditions. Lower lake levels with short-lived high stands during the past approximately 800 years reflect generally arid conditions with brief wet intervals similar to the region’s moisture regime today. The millennial trend is one of increasing aridity and corresponds closely with fire reconstructions and regional paleoclimatic trends. We conclude that high-magnitude lake-level fluctuations and decadal scale trends occurred before the observational period and are persistent hydroclimatic features of the Yukon Flats region. Article in Journal/Newspaper Antarctic and Alpine Research Arctic permafrost Thermokarst Alaska Yukon Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles Yukon Lower Lake ENVELOPE(-129.290,-129.290,53.428,53.428) High Lake ENVELOPE(-110.849,-110.849,67.386,67.386) Arctic, Antarctic, and Alpine Research 50 1 e1496565 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles |
op_collection_id |
ftdoajarticles |
language |
English |
topic |
alaska holocene paleoclimate yukon flats lake sediment δ18o thermokarst Environmental sciences GE1-350 Ecology QH540-549.5 |
spellingShingle |
alaska holocene paleoclimate yukon flats lake sediment δ18o thermokarst Environmental sciences GE1-350 Ecology QH540-549.5 Lesleigh Anderson Bruce P. Finney Mark D. Shapley Lake levels in a discontinuous permafrost landscape: Late Holocene variations inferred from sediment oxygen isotopes, Yukon Flats, Alaska |
topic_facet |
alaska holocene paleoclimate yukon flats lake sediment δ18o thermokarst Environmental sciences GE1-350 Ecology QH540-549.5 |
description |
During recent decades, lake levels in the Yukon Flats region of interior Alaska have fluctuated dramatically. However, prior to recorded observations, no data are available to indicate if similar or more extreme variations occurred during past centuries and millennia. This study explores the history of Yukon Flats lake origins and lake levels for the past approximately 5,500 years from sediment analyses guided by previous work on permafrost extent, thermokarst, and modern isotope hydrology. Sediments dated by 210Pb and AMS radiocarbon indicate stable chronologies following initial lake initiation. Subsequent lithology is autochthonous, and oxygen isotope ratios of endogenic carbonate reflect lake level change at multiple time scales. Sediment results indicate high lake levels between approximately 4000 and 1850 cal yr BP, which is interpreted to reflect wetter-than-modern conditions. Lower lake levels with short-lived high stands during the past approximately 800 years reflect generally arid conditions with brief wet intervals similar to the region’s moisture regime today. The millennial trend is one of increasing aridity and corresponds closely with fire reconstructions and regional paleoclimatic trends. We conclude that high-magnitude lake-level fluctuations and decadal scale trends occurred before the observational period and are persistent hydroclimatic features of the Yukon Flats region. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Lesleigh Anderson Bruce P. Finney Mark D. Shapley |
author_facet |
Lesleigh Anderson Bruce P. Finney Mark D. Shapley |
author_sort |
Lesleigh Anderson |
title |
Lake levels in a discontinuous permafrost landscape: Late Holocene variations inferred from sediment oxygen isotopes, Yukon Flats, Alaska |
title_short |
Lake levels in a discontinuous permafrost landscape: Late Holocene variations inferred from sediment oxygen isotopes, Yukon Flats, Alaska |
title_full |
Lake levels in a discontinuous permafrost landscape: Late Holocene variations inferred from sediment oxygen isotopes, Yukon Flats, Alaska |
title_fullStr |
Lake levels in a discontinuous permafrost landscape: Late Holocene variations inferred from sediment oxygen isotopes, Yukon Flats, Alaska |
title_full_unstemmed |
Lake levels in a discontinuous permafrost landscape: Late Holocene variations inferred from sediment oxygen isotopes, Yukon Flats, Alaska |
title_sort |
lake levels in a discontinuous permafrost landscape: late holocene variations inferred from sediment oxygen isotopes, yukon flats, alaska |
publisher |
Taylor & Francis Group |
publishDate |
2018 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.1080/15230430.2018.1496565 https://doaj.org/article/7c5db1db67f048a6afbed43127b9c909 |
long_lat |
ENVELOPE(-129.290,-129.290,53.428,53.428) ENVELOPE(-110.849,-110.849,67.386,67.386) |
geographic |
Yukon Lower Lake High Lake |
geographic_facet |
Yukon Lower Lake High Lake |
genre |
Antarctic and Alpine Research Arctic permafrost Thermokarst Alaska Yukon |
genre_facet |
Antarctic and Alpine Research Arctic permafrost Thermokarst Alaska Yukon |
op_source |
Arctic, Antarctic, and Alpine Research, Vol 50, Iss 1 (2018) |
op_relation |
http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/15230430.2018.1496565 https://doaj.org/toc/1523-0430 https://doaj.org/toc/1938-4246 1523-0430 1938-4246 doi:10.1080/15230430.2018.1496565 https://doaj.org/article/7c5db1db67f048a6afbed43127b9c909 |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1080/15230430.2018.1496565 |
container_title |
Arctic, Antarctic, and Alpine Research |
container_volume |
50 |
container_issue |
1 |
container_start_page |
e1496565 |
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1766286922115710976 |