Search

In formerly glaciated permafrost regions, extensive areas are still underlain by a considerable amount of glacier ice buried by glacigenic sediments. It is expected that large parts of glacier ice buried in the permafrost will melt in the near future, although the intensity and timing will depend on local terrain conditions and the magnitude and rate of future climate trends in different Arctic regions. The impact of these ice bodies on landscape evolution remains uncertain since the extent and volume of undisturbed relict glacier ice are unknown. These remnants of glacier ice buried and preserved in the permafrost contribute to the high spatial variability in ground ice condition of these landscapes, leading to the formation of lakes with diverse origins and morphometric and limnological properties. This study focuses on thermokarst lake initiation and development in response to varying ground ice conditions in a glacial valley on Bylot Island (Nunavut). We studied a lake-rich area using lake sediment cores, detailed bathymetric data, remotely sensed data and observations of buried glacier ice exposures. Our results suggest that initiation of thermokarst lakes in the valley was triggered from the melting of either buried glacier ice or intrasedimental ice and ice wedges. Over time, all lakes enlarged through thermal and mechanical shoreline erosion, as well as vertically through thaw consolidation and subsidence. Some of them coalesced with neighbouring water bodies to develop larger lakes. These glacial thermokarst lakes formed in buried glacier ice now evolve as “classic” thermokarst lakes that expand in area and volume as a result of the melting of intrasedimental ground ice in the surrounding material and the underlying glaciofluvial and till material. It is expected that the deepening of thaw bulbs (taliks) and the enlargement of Arctic lakes in response to global warming will reach undisturbed buried glacier ice where it is still present, which in turn will substantially alter lake bathymetry, geochemistry and greenhouse gas emissions from Arctic lowlands.

The impacts of asbestos mining activities and wastes on aquatic ecosystems are generally assumed to be minimal, yet have been poorly studied. To evaluate their importance, we analyzed several sediment cores collected in the Bécancour River Basin, notably in 4 fluvial lakes located downstream from Thetford Mines (Quebec, Canada): Stater Pond, Trout Lake, Lake William, and Lake Joseph. This region has been the center of more than a century of asbestos mining activities (1877–2011 CE), which resulted in the accumulation of huge piles of wastes (tailings and waste rock) on riverbanks. Age-depth models, primarily derived from radiometric dating (137Cs, 210Pb, 14C), revealed extreme increases in sediment accumulation rates in Stater Pond and lakes Trout and William, corresponding with the 1955–1959 CE drainage and excavation of an upstream lake for mining purposes. This event also corresponded with their strong eutrophication, as revealed by sudden changes in diatom assemblage composition (e.g., proliferation of Cyclostephanos invisitatus/makarovae, Cyclotella meneghiniana). ICP-MS/ICP-AES analyses revealed that post-1960 sediments at Stater Pond and lakes Trout and William, which maintained very high accumulation rates, were distinctively enriched in magnesium, chromium, and nickel. This provided evidence that they are contaminated by asbestos mining wastes, hence that the piles on the riverbanks are exposed to heavy erosion. Analyses by transmission electron microscopy demonstrated that post-1960 sediments contain important asbestos fiber concentrations (up to 6.9 wt%). Evidence of asbestos mining contamination has also been found in Lake Joseph, which showed that it spreads over ≥ 25 km in the Bécancour River system. We conclude that asbestos mining activities and wastes are susceptible to cause high sediment loads, as well as metal and fiber contamination in aquatic ecosystems (among other undesirable effects). Therefore, more efforts should be invested in the restoration of such mining sites and in controlling pollution they cause.

Sedimentary diatoms have been used to quantitatively reconstruct climate-related variables, such as temperature at different timescales. Even though temperature is often less of a key driver of diatom ecology than other environmental parameters (water chemistry), diatom inference models have been shown to be reliable in deducing past temperature trends. In addition, the oxygen isotope composition (δ18Odiatom) preserved in buried diatom frustules has demonstrated its potential to reflect climatic and hydrological conditions at the time of frustule formation. This study combines results from both diatom-based climate proxies to reconstruct summer water and mean annual air temperatures, and hydrological trends in Nettilling Lake, Baffin Island, from ca. 5000 to 500 cal a bp. Diatom-inferred temperatures revealed an overall ca. 2 °C cooling throughout the Late-Holocene. The δ18Odiatom values showed an increasing trend up to ca. 1900 cal a bp, where they reached their highest values (+24.8‰ at 15 cm) and thereafter decreased to their lowest values (+21.4‰ at 4 cm). These trends were linked to meltwater inflows associated with Penny Ice Cap thaw rate that was in turn controlled by regional climatic conditions which went from intensified cooling during the Neoglacial period to slight warming thereafter. Our results suggest that diatom- and diatom-isotope-based temperature and hydrological reconstructions can identify trends related to the natural climate system variability. The diatom oxygen isotopes are useful for paleoenvironmental studies of terrestrial aquatic ecosystems, but not for all hydrological systems are the ideal temperature proxy. Hence, the combination of proxies helps to disentangle temperature and hydrological effects for paleoclimatic reconstructions and may support future studies of postglacial environmental change in northern lakes.

High latitude freshwater ecosystems are sentinels of human activity and environmental change. The lakes and ponds that characterize Arctic landscapes have a low resilience to buffer variability in climate, especially with increasing global anthropogenic stressors in recent decades. Here, we show that a small freshwater pond in proximity of the archaeological site “Native Point” on Southampton Island (Nunavut, Arctic Canada) is a highly sensitive environmental recorder. The sediment analyses allowed for pinpointing the first arrival of Sadlermiut culture at Native Point to ~ 1250 CE, followed by a dietary shift likely in response to the onset of cooling in the region ~ 1400 CE. The influence of the Sadlermiut on the environment persisted long after the last of their population perished in 1903. Presently, the pond remains a distorted ecosystem that has experienced fundamental shifts in the benthic invertebrate assemblages and accumulated anthropogenic metals in the sediment. Our multi-proxy paleolimnological investigation using geochemical and biological indicators emphasizes that direct and indirect anthropogenic impacts have long-term environmental implications on high latitude ecosystems.

The Arctic has warmed significantly over the past decades. However, the evolution of Arctic climate during the Holocene remains to be clarified in more detail, and regional factors controlling aqua...

A comprehensive database of paleoclimate records is needed to place recent warming into the longer-term context of natural climate variability. We present a global compilation of quality-controlled, published, temperature-sensitive proxy records extending back 12,000 years through the Holocene. Data were compiled from 679 sites where time series cover at least 4000 years, are resolved at sub-millennial scale (median spacing of 400 years or finer) and have at least one age control point every 3000 years, with cut-off values slackened in data-sparse regions. The data derive from lake sediment (51%), marine sediment (31%), peat (11%), glacier ice (3%), and other natural archives. The database contains 1319 records, including 157 from the Southern Hemisphere. The multi-proxy database comprises paleotemperature time series based on ecological assemblages, as well as biophysical and geochemical indicators that reflect mean annual or seasonal temperatures, as encoded in the database. This database can be used to reconstruct the spatiotemporal evolution of Holocene temperature at global to regional scales, and is publicly available in Linked Paleo Data (LiPD) format. Fil: Kaufman, Darrell. Northern Arizona University.; Estados Unidos Fil: McKay, Nicholas. Northern Arizona University.; Estados Unidos Fil: Routson, Cody. Northern Arizona University.; Estados Unidos Fil: Erb, Michael. Northern Arizona University.; Estados Unidos Fil: Davis, Basil. University Of Lausanne; Suiza Fil: Heiri, Oliver. University Of Basel; Suiza Fil: Jaccard, Samuel. University Of Bern; Suiza Fil: Tierney, Jessica. University of Arizona; Estados Unidos Fil: Dätwyler, Christoph. University Of Bern; Suiza Fil: Axford, Yarrow. Northwestern University; Estados Unidos Fil: Brussel, Thomas. University of Utah; Estados Unidos Fil: Cartapanis, Olivier. University Of Bern; Suiza Fil: Chase, Brian. Universite de Montpellier; Francia Fil: Dawson, Andria. Mount Royal University; Canadá Fil: de Vernal, Anne. Université du Québec a Montreal; Canadá Fil: Engels, Stefan. University of London; Reino Unido Fil: Jonkers, Lukas. University Of Bremen; Alemania Fil: Marsicek, Jeremiah. University of Wisconsin-Madison; Estados Unidos Fil: Moffa Sánchez, Paola. University of Durham; Reino Unido Fil: Morrill, Carrie. University of Colorado; Estados Unidos Fil: Orsi, Anais. Université Paris-Saclay; Francia Fil: Rehfeld, Kira. Heidelberg University; Alemania Fil: Saunders, Krystyna. Australian Nuclear Science And Technology Organisation; Australia Fil: Sommer, Philipp. University Of Lausanne; Suiza Fil: Thomas, Elizabeth. University At Buffalo; Estados Unidos Fil: Tonello, Marcela Sandra. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Mar del Plata. Instituto de Investigaciones Marinas y Costeras. Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Instituto de Investigaciones Marinas y Costeras; Argentina Fil: Tóth, Mónika. Balaton Limnological Institute; Hungría Fil: Vachula, Richard. Brown University; Estados Unidos Fil: Andreev, Andrei. Alfred Wegener Institut Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research; Alemania Fil: Bertrand, Sebastien. Ghent University; Bélgica Fil: Massaferro, Julieta. Administración de Parques Nacionales. Parque Nacional "Nahuel Huapi"; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina

A comprehensive database of paleoclimate records is needed to place recent warming into the longer-term context of natural climate variability. We present a global compilation of quality-controlled, published, temperature-sensitive proxy records extending back 12,000 years through the Holocene. Data were compiled from 679 sites where time series cover at least 4000 years, are resolved at sub-millennial scale (median spacing of 400 years or finer) and have at least one age control point every 3000 years, with cut-off values slackened in data-sparse regions. The data derive from lake sediment (51%), marine sediment (31%), peat (11%), glacier ice (3%), and other natural archives. The database contains 1319 records, including 157 from the Southern Hemisphere. The multi-proxy database comprises paleotemperature time series based on ecological assemblages, as well as biophysical and geochemical indicators that reflect mean annual or seasonal temperatures, as encoded in the database. This database can be used to reconstruct the spatiotemporal evolution of Holocene temperature at global to regional scales, and is publicly available in Linked Paleo Data (LiPD) format., Measurement(s)climateTechnology Type(s)digital curationFactor Type(s)temporal interval • geographic location • proxy typeSample Characteristic - Environmentclimate systemSample Characteristic - LocationEarth (planet) Machine-accessible metadata file describing the reported data: https://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/paleo/study/27330

The Bécancour River basin in southern Québec (Canada) has been impacted by more than a hundred years of asbestos mining activities in the Thetford Mines region. Several recreational water bodies located downstream from the city are suffering from high sediment and contaminant loads and eutrophication. In order to prepare an efficient management of the fluvial lakes, we completed paleolimnological investigations to evaluate the extent of their deterioration and identify catchment disturbances that influenced their present-day condition. Here we present the results of a multi-proxy study of sediment cores collected from a chain of 5 lakes. The sedimentary records from these lakes indicate severe perturbations associated with the complete draining of Lac Noir, a former lake near Thetford Mines excavated and drained for mining purposes between 1955-1959. Radiometric 210Pb dating revealed extreme increases in the sediment accumulation rate following this event. Analyses of loss-on-ignition, carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) isotopes, grain-size, and X-ray microfluorescence indicated that the post-1960 sediments were enriched in fine-grained mineral matter and had higher metal and nutrient concentrations as compared to older sediments at the bottom of the cores. Changes in the δ13C and C/N ratios and the predominance of diatom taxa (class Bacillariophyceae) typical of nutrient-rich waters (e.g., Cyclostephanos invisitatus, Cyclotella meneghiniana) also showed that the 1955-1959 event led to a rapid eutrophication of some lakes. Results from our study illustrate that the asbestos mining activities had dramatic impacts on lake biota and contaminant levels, and suggest that major restoration efforts will be needed to improve their ecological condition.

Jacques O, Pienitz R, Ibrahim G. 2020. Paleolimnological assessment of long-term changes in a boreal recreational lake of the Fermont mining region (subarctic Quebec, Canada). Lake Reserv Manage. XX:XXX–XXX. Lac Carheil is a boreal recreational lake located near Fermont, a remote town of subarctic Quebec built in the 1970s to support iron ore mining activities. Harmful cyanobacterial blooms were recently observed at its surface, suggesting that it suffered from eutrophication. However, long-term water quality data were lacking to properly understand its current condition. We therefore undertook a paleolimnological study to investigate past limnological changes in the lake based on the multiproxy analysis of sediment cores. The cores retrieved from Lac Carheil were marked by numerous distinct laminae representing past episodes of high-energy events in the lake catchment. Furthermore, diatom assemblages of the sediments revealed that the limnological conditions of the lake had been relatively stable for more than a thousand years before beginning to change around 1840 AD. This was mainly evidenced by the emergence of species indicative of nutrient enrichment (e.g., Aulacoseira subarctica, Fragilaria crotonensis), which suggested an early eutrophication potentially attributable to climate change. The period of modern settlement (1971–2015) was characterized by a decrease in the carbon to nitrogen ratio (C/N) of the sediments, and marked increases in their organic matter content, diatom total abundance, and diatom-inferred total phosphorus concentrations, which indicated an enhanced primary production. Nevertheless, our results suggested that the disturbance level of the lake was weak and that its prospect for recovery is good. Our study provides valuable reference data to assist the management of Lac Carheil, and reveals first insights into the sedimentological and limnological history of the Fermont mining region.

More than a century (1877–2011 CE) of asbestos mining activities in the Thetford Mines region have resulted in the accumulation of gigantic mineral waste piles on the banks of the Becancour River (southern Quebec, Canada). This river widens downstream from the mining sites to form a chain of lakes, successively: Stater Pond, Trout Lake, Lake William and Lake Joseph. A previous paleolimnological investigation revealed that waste erosion and transport strongly modified and polluted Trout Lake. However, questions remain about the extent of the mining contamination within the Becancour River Basin and its impacts at other spatial scales. Here, we aimed to address this lack of knowledge by analyzing the sedimentological evolution of Stater Pond, Lake William, Lake Joseph and Lake Becancour (upstream reference site). Radiometric dating (210Pb, 137Cs, 14C) and analyses of geochemical composition (ICP-AES/ICP-MS), computed tomography, magnetic susceptibility, loss-on-ignition and grain size were performed on sediment cores retrieved at these sites. In contrast to Lake Becancour, yet similar to Trout Lake, we found that Stater Pond and Lake William have received high mineral matter loads since the creation of the Lake Asbestos Mine during the 1950s. Recent lake sediments at these downstream sites were highly enriched in magnesium, chromium and nickel. Comparison of their geochemical signature with that of sedimentary source materials from within the drainage basin demonstrated that they predominantly originate from mining waste erosion. Consequently, Stater Pond and lakes Trout and William are nowadays exposed to very high sediment accumulation rates (up to 1.4 cm yr−1; 0.6 g cm−2 yr−1) and heavy metal enrichment. Evidence for contamination was also found in Lake Joseph, thereby indicating that wastes are transported and deposited over ≥25 km downstream from the former mining sites. Our study highlights the high risks and dangers associated with asbestos pollutants in aquatic ecosystems.

Climate change is causing rapid permafrost degradation across Arctic and subarctic regions, resulting in changes in the size, abundance, and structure of thermokarst (thaw) ponds and lakes. The main objectives of this study were to analyze periphytic diatom communities and their affinity to vegetation substrates in thermokarst ecosystems located in the eastern Hudson Bay region and to establish a first inventory of diatom assemblages and the associated littoral vegetation in these systems. Some generalist diatom species, including Tabellaria flocculosa, occupied all ecological niches in the water bodies. In contrast, genera such as Eunotia and Pinnularia were more specialized and generally concentrated on moss substrates. Shoreline vegetation and thermokarst pond/lake littoral morphology (slope) resulted in limnological conditions that differed between sites and ultimately affected diatom community structure. Our results show that both shoreline vegetation and diatom communities are diverse in thermokarst ecosystems, and their species composition depends mostly on site-specific properties (available microhabitats, local pond/lake morphology) rather than limnological conditions that are closely aligned with regional ecoclimatic conditions.

A series of peat monoliths was collected from Hjalmarvik, Kuða and Baegistaðir, three abandoned farm sites located on a transect extending from the coast to 18 km inland in the Svalbarðstunga region (northeastern Iceland) in order to document the impact of human occupation and patterns of land use on landscape change and vegetation. Svalbarðstunga is of considerable interest because of the geographical and ecological features that distinguish it from other regions of Iceland, in particular by the more direct influence of the cold East Greenland Current (EGC). Plant and insect macrofossils and diatoms identified in peat monoliths provided proxy indicators of human settlement and land use that in some cases corroborate, and in others expand upon, existing archaeological and historical dates. Based on the presence of ecofacts (calcined bones, fish bones and charcoal), synanthropic insects and some anthropogenic plant-indicators (e.g. weeds), we showed that there was a consistent occupation and use of the coastal site of Hjalmarvik since AD 970. At Kuða, the scenario is quite different. Two periods of occupation or land use were identified: from prior to c. AD 960 to 1190 and from c. AD 1650 to 1870. In the 15th and into the 16th centuries, the decrease in the deposition of traces of fuel wastes around the inland farm sites (Kuða and Baegistaðir) suggests that they were used much less frequently. The decline of such proxies for human occupation occurred shortly before the occurrence of the coldest conditions from the 16th to the 17th centuries as well as prior to the V1477 eruption, suggesting that these natural factors may not have been the primary or unique driver of changing modes of tenancy. A scenario of famine-related depopulation would have played a significant role in this decrease in the human impact on vegetation.

Widespread across northern permafrost landscapes, thermokarst ponds and lakes provide vital wildlife habitat and play a key role in biogeochemical processes. Stored in the sediments of these typically shallow and dynamic waterbodies are rich sources of paleoenvironmental information whose potential has not yet been fully exploited, likely because of concerns over stratigraphic preservation and challenges to develop reliable sediment core chronologies. Here, we present an overview of recently derived informative paleolimnological reconstructions based on multiparameter analysis of sediment archives from permafrost aquatic basins. We include examples from across the Canadian North, Alaska, and Siberia that illustrate their value for providing insights into temporal patterns of lake inception, catchment erosion, aquatic productivity, hydrological evolution, and landscape disturbances. Although not captured in our survey, emerging research directions focused on carbon accumulation, storage, and balance hold much promise for contributing to global climate change science.

Numerous studies utilizing remote sensing imagery and other methods have documented that thermokarst lakes are undergoing varied hydrological transitions in response to recent climate changes, from surface area expansion to drainage and evaporative desiccation. Here, we provide a synthesis of hydrological conditions for 376 lakes of mainly thermokarst origin across high-latitude North America. We assemble surface water isotope compositions measured during the past decade at five lake-rich landscapes including Arctic Coastal Plain (Alaska), Yukon Flats (Alaska), Old Crow Flats (Yukon), northwestern Hudson Bay Lowlands (Manitoba), and Nunavik (Quebec). These landscapes represent the broad range of thermokarst environments by spanning gradients in meteorological, permafrost, and vegetation conditions. An isotope framework was established based on flux-weighted long-term averages of meteorological conditions for each lake to quantify water balance metrics. The isotope composition of source water and evaporation-to-inflow ratio for each lake were determined, and the results demonstrated a substantial array of regional and subregional diversity of lake hydrological conditions. Controls on lake water balance and how these vary among the five landscapes and with differing environmental drivers are assessed. Findings reveal that lakes in the Hudson Bay Lowlands are most vulnerable to evaporative desiccation, whereas those in Nunavik are most resilient. However, we also identify the complexity in predicting hydrological responses of these thermokarst landscapes to future climate change.

Thermokarst lakes are widespread and diverse across permafrost regions and they are considered significant contributors to global greenhouse gas emissions. Paleoenvironmental reconstructions documenting the inception and development of these ecologically important water bodies are generally limited to Pleistocene-age permafrost deposits (Yedoma) of Siberia, Alaska, and the western Canadian Arctic. Here we present the gradual transition from syngenetic ice-wedge polygon terrains to a thermokarst lake in the Eastern Canadian Arctic. We combine geomorphological surveys with paleolimnological reconstructions from sediment cores in an effort to characterize local landscape evolution from terrestrial to freshwater environment. Located on an ice-rich and organic-rich polygonal terrace, the studied lake is now evolving through active thermokarst, as revealed by subsiding and eroding shores, and was likely created by water pooling within a pre-existing topographic depression. Organic sedimentation in the valley started during the mid-Holocene, as documented by the oldest organic debris found at the base of one sediment core and dated at 4.8 kyr BP. Local sedimentation dynamics were initially controlled by fluctuations in wind activity, local moisture and vegetation growth/accumulation, as shown by alternating loess (silt) and peat layers. Fossil diatom assemblages were likewise influenced by local hydro-climatic conditions and reflect a broad range of substrates available in the past (both terrestrial and aquatic). Such conditions likely prevailed until ~ 2000 BP, when peat accumulation stopped as water ponded the surface of degrading ice-wedge polygons, and the basin progressively developed into a thermokarst lake. Interestingly, this happened in the middle of the Neoglacial cooling period, likely under wetter-than-average conditions. Thereafter, the lake continued to develop as evidenced by the dominance of aquatic (both benthic and planktonic) diatom taxa in organic-rich lacustrine muds. Based on these interpretations, we present a four-stage conceptual model of thermokarst lake development during the late Holocene, including some potential future trajectories. Such a model could be applied to other formerly glaciated syngenetic permafrost landscapes.

Ecotones mark zones of rapid change in ecological structure at various spatial scales. They are believed to be particularly susceptible to shifts caused by environmental transformation, making them key regions for studying the effects of global change. Here, we explored the variation in assemblage structure of aquatic primary producer and consumer communities across latitudinal transects in northeastern North America (Quebec-Labrador) to identify spatial patterns in biodiversity that indicated the location of transition zones across the landscape. We analyzed species richness and the cumulative rate of compositional change (expressed as beta-diversity) of diatoms and chironomids to detect any abrupt shifts in the rate of spatial taxonomic turnover. We used principal coordinates analysis to estimate community turnover with latitude, then applied piecewise linear regression to assess the position of ecotones. Statistically significant changes in assemblage composition occurred at 52 and 55°N, corresponding to the transition between closed- and open-crown forest, and to the southern onset of the forest tundra (i.e., the forest limit), respectively. The spatial distribution of ecotones was most strongly related to air temperature for chironomids and to vegetation- and soil-related chemical attributes of lake water for diatoms, including dissolved organic carbon content and water color. Lakes at mid- to high-latitudes currently face pressures from rapidly rising temperatures, accompanied by large increases in organic carbon inputs from their catchments, often leading to browning and its associated effects. The biota at the base of food webs in lakes located in transition zones are disproportionately affected by the cascading effects of these multi-factorial changes, concurrent with pronounced terrestrial greening observed in these regions. Similar patterns of biotic shifts have been observed along alpine aquatic transects, indicating the potential for widespread restructuring of cold, high-altitude and high-latitude freshwater communities due to global change.

International audience; The levels and speciation of dissolved, particulate and gaseous Se have been measured in five thermokarst ponds in a sporadic and discontinuous permafrost region of northern Québec (Canada) during summer oxygen stratification. Evolution of Se concentrations with depth was investigated in sediment cores collected in three different ponds. The potential for inorganic Se transformation in natural pond waters was investigated by experimental incubations of isotopic species-specific tracers of selenite and selenate. Experimental and monitoring observation revealed that high dissolved carbon concentration, suspended particle matter concentration, heterotrophic activity and periphytic biofilms have a significant role in the formation of gaseous selenium species. In sediment, Se is mainly associated with organic matter in the concentration range 0.14–1.6 mg kg−1. Despite low outgassing rates of volatile Se toward the atmosphere (1–97 ng Se m−2 day−1), the large surface occupied by ponds in northern Canada may lead to important exchange rates (ca. 1 ton year−1) at the global scale. Detailed measurements of Se speciation, including volatile compounds, and its reactivity toward heterotrophic activity in selected thaw ponds from the Canadian Subarctic provides new insight to better constrain the biogeochemical pathways leading to Se removal from the water column via atmospheric gas exchange and sediment accumulation.

The Circumpolar Diatom Database (CDD) is a new, open-access, online resource for the analysis of species distribution and abundance of diatoms in high-latitude, circumpolar regions. We provide a short description of the CDD design and its components and the data consultation methods and procedures, to familiarize potential users with the project and the database. In addition, opportunities for data exchange and input are described, to allow optimal application and expansion of the CDD by the user community, composed of paleolimnologists, limnologists and northern researchers in related disciplines.

Nettilling Lake (Baffin Island, Nunavut) is currently the largest lake in the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. Despite its enormous size, this freshwater system remains little studied until the present-day. Existing records from southern Baffin Island indicate that in the early postglacial" period, the region was submerged by the postglacial Tyrell Sea due to isostatic depression previously exerted by the Laurentide Ice Sheet. However, these records are temporally and spatially discontinuous, relying on qualitative extrapolation. This paper presents the first quantitative reconstruction of the postglacial environmental succession of the Nettilling Lake basin based on a 8300 yr-long high resolution sedimentary record. Our multi-proxy investigation of the glacio-isostatic uplift and subsequent changes in paleosalinity and sediment sources is based on analyses of sediment fabric, elemental geochemistry (mu-XRF), diatom assemblage composition, as well as on the first diatom-based oxygen isotope record from the eastern Canadian Arctic. Results indicate that the Nettilling Lake basin experienced a relatively rapid and uniform marine invasion in the early Holocene, followed by progressive freshening until about 6000 yr BP when limnological conditions similar to those of today were established. Our findings present evidence for deglacial processes in the Foxe Basin that were initiated at least 400yrs earlier than previously thought. (C) 2016 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.orgilicensesiby-nc-nd/4.0/).

The Baffin Island region in the eastern Canadian Arctic has recently experienced a rapid warming, possibly unprecedented in millennia. To investigate the response of freshwater environments to this warming and place it in a secular perspective, we analyzed a 90-cm-long sediment core from Nettilling Lake, the largest lake of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. The core was taken from a part of the lake basin that receives meltwater and sediment inputs from the nearby Penny Ice Cap. The core time scale, established using 137Cs and palaeomagnetic techniques, spans an estimated 600 years. A multi-proxy approach was used to document changes in the physical, chemical, and biological properties of the sediments. We found evidence for a relatively warm period (mid/late 15th century to mid/late 16th century) during the early part of the ‘Little Ice Age’ (LIA), characterized by high sedimentation rates and laminations. This was followed by colder, drier, and windier conditions corresponding to the coldest phase of LIA and coinciding with the latest and most extensive period of regional ice cap expansion (early 16th to late 19th centuries). A rapid warming occurred at the beginning of the 20th century. Variations in titanium (Ti) content in the core, a proxy for detrital sediment inputs, showed good agreement with reconstructed secular variations in summer melt rates on Penny Ice Cap between the mid-14th century and the present-day, providing supporting evidence for a climatic–hydrological connection between the ice cap and Nettilling Lake.

Landscapes are changing at fast rates in subarctic regions due to recent climate warming and related permafrost thaw. As a consequence, thermokarst lakes and ponds are forming and their properties are changing rapidly. Here, we report on the interannual (2012-2014) variability of sedimentological and limnological conditions in a recently formed thermokarst pond in discontinuous permafrost terrain in Northern Quebec, and we discuss various aspects of pond sedimentation processes. Sediment samples from collecting traps and a short core were analyzed for particle size, organic matter content and geochemical composition, as well as 14 C dating of a peat sample from the core. Results reveal the preponderance of silts containing 2 to 13% organic matter and an age of 1825–1950 cal. yr. BP for the peat sample. A hypoxic hypolimnion formed in the pond during the short summers. Apparent sedimentation rates (up to 5.5 mm/d) varied in relation to local meteorological conditions and snow cover. The results also reveal major parameters associated with sediment composition, most notably dissolved oxygen in the water column, sampling depth and the year of sampling. Microplankton (20–200 μm) is likely the main source of organic matter, which represents up to 10 to 13% of sediment trap samples, considering its size matching a major grain size mode (44.9–59.0 μm). Using sedimentation rates and an estimation of long-term sediment compaction, the pond's “life span” was calculated at 370 to 600 years. This represents a baseline for the general understanding of the development of young (15–20 years) subarctic thermokarst ponds overlying impermeable soils, and provides an approximate time frame for the potential response of such systems to climate change impacts on northern landscapes.

The hydrology of shallow lakes (and ponds) located in the western Hudson Bay Lowlands (HBL) is sensitive to climate warming and associated permafrost thaw. However, their biological characteristics are poorly known, which hampers effective aquatic ecosystem monitoring. Located in northern Manitoba along the southwestern coast of Hudson Bay, Wapusk National Park (WNP) encompasses numerous shallow lakes representative of the subarctic zone. We analyzed the distribution and diversity of diatom (microscopic algae; class Bacillariophyceae) assemblages in surficial sediments of 33 lakes located in three different ecozones spanning a vegetation gradient, from NE to SW: the Coastal Fen (CF), the Interior Peat Plateau (IPP), and the Boreal Spruce Forest (BSF). We found significant differences (P

An amendment to this paper has been published and can be accessed via a link at the top of the paper.

The Pingualuit Crater, located in the Ungava Peninsula (northern Quebec, Canada) is a 1.4-Ma-old impact crater hosting a ~ 245-m-deep lake. The lake has a great potential to preserve unique paleoclimatic and paleoecological sedimentary records of the last glacial/interglacial cycles in the terrestrial Canadian Arctic. In order to investigate the stratigraphy in the lake and the late Quaternary glacial history of the Pingualuit Crater, this study compiles data from three expeditions carried out in May 2007 (~ 9-m-long sediment core), in August 2010 (~ 50 km of seismic lines), and in September 2012 (high-resolution terrestrial LiDAR topography of the inner slopes). Despite the weak penetration (~ 10 m) of the 3.5-kHz subbottom profiling caused by the presence of boulders in the sedimentary column, seismic data coupled with the stratigraphy established from the sediment core enabled the identification of two glaciolacustrine units deposited during the final stages of the Laurentide Ice Sheet (LIS) retreat in the crater. Two episodes of postglacial mass wasting events were also identified on the slopes and in the deep basin of the crater. The high-resolution topography of the internal slopes of the crater generated from the LiDAR data permitted the confirmation of a paleolake level at 545 m and determination of the elevation of drainage outlets. Together with the mapping of glacial and deglacial landforms from air photographs, the LiDAR data allowed the development of a new deglaciation and drainage scenario for the Pingualuit Crater Lake and surrounding area. The model proposes three main phases of lake drainage, based on the activation of seven outlets following the retreat of the LIS front toward the southwest. Finally, as opposed to other high-latitude crater lake basins such as Lake El'gygytgyn or Laguna Potrok Aike where high-resolution paleoclimatic records were obtained owing to high sediment accumulation rates, the seismic data from the Pingualuit Crater Lake suggest extremely low sedimentation rates after the retreat of the LIS owing to the absence of tributaries.

This study documents the past ~7000 years of Holocene climatic history for Labrador and Nunatsiavut, using a sedimentary sequence of more than 8 m retrieved in Nachvak fjord, one of the northernmost fjords of Nunatsiavut. Using a multi-proxy approach combining a solid Accelerator Mass Spectrometry (AMS)-14C chronology and the fossil assemblages of pollen grains and dinoflagellate cysts (dinocysts), we were able to compare terrestrial and marine records in an effort to obtain a better understanding of the mid- to late-Holocene climate history of the Nunatsiavut. Records begin at the end of the deglaciation and showed a general delay in the sequence of climate events which followed, both in terrestrial and marine realms. The presence of Pentapharsodinium dalei in great abundance in Nachvak Fjord revealed a strong influence of the North Atlantic Ocean and the Labrador Sea until ~3000 yr BP. Afterward, its rather fast disappearance marked the increased influence of Arctic waters. The last 1000 years show climate stability in the region over the marine realm and a cooling trend over terrestrial landscapes.

PASADO is a multidisciplinary Potrok Aike Sediment Archive Drilling prOject, which was conducted from 2008 to 2013, focusing on the sedimentary record of the volcanic crater maar Laguna Potrok Aike (52°S, 70°W, 116 m asl) in southern Patagonia, Argentina. It represents one of the few non-glacial and extra-Andean sediment archives studied so far on the continental landmass between subtropical South America and Antarctica that covers the entire Holocene and the Late Glacial. In this study, a high-resolution diatom analysis of the Late Glacial time interval situated between 15.60 and 10.51 ka cal. BP was performed on the PASADO sediment core. This period is of particular interest as it encompasses the Antarctic Cold Reversal (ACR), as well as the Younger Dryas (YD) chronozone. To better refine the variability of environmental and climatic conditions of this Late Glacial time interval, we combined our data with those of a microsedimentological analysis conducted on the same sediments and for the same period to infer changes in lake level and water column stratification. Our study revealed that diatoms are an ideal proxy to complement microsedimentological analyses by providing important independent information on the past limnological dynamics of Laguna Potrok Aike and the paleoclimatic conditions that prevailed during the Late Glacial in the study area and allows a new way of explaining shifts in the position of Southern Hemisphere Westerly Winds (SWW) during the Late Glacial. Peaks of planktonic diatoms, particularly Cyclostephanos patagonicus, correspond to previously detected total organic carbon (TOC), Ca/Si, Ca and Mn peaks and support the hypothesis that relatively high lake levels and weaker SWW have prevailed during the Late Glacial. Moreover, a cyclic pattern, observed both in the biological and geochemical indicators, suggests at least five shifts in the position of the SWW from the beginning of the ACR to the end of the YD. The periodicity of these shifts seems to be related to Antarctic ice-sheet discharge (AID) events in the Scotia Sea that coincide with enhanced iceberg flux from the Antarctic ice-sheet. Fil: Zimmermann, Claudia. Laval University; Canadá Fil: Jouve, Guillaume. Centre Eau Terre Environnement; Canadá Fil: Pienitz, Reinhard. Laval University; Canadá Fil: Francus, Pierre. Centre Eau Terre Environnement; Canadá Fil: Maidana, Nora Irene. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Ciudad Universitaria. Instituto de Biodiversidad y Biología Experimental y Aplicada. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Instituto de Biodiversidad y Biología Experimental y Aplicada; Argentina

This study aimed at reconstructing past climatic and environmental conditions of a poorly known and documented subarctic region, the Nunatsiavut (northern Labrador). A multiproxy approach was chosen, using fossil dinoflagellate cysts, diatoms and pollen from sediment cores taken into three fjords (Nachvak 59°N, Saglek 58.5°N, and Anaktalak 56.5°N). It allowed estimating terrestrial and marine influences in each fjord and documenting the recent history of human activities of the southern fjords (Saglek and Anaktalak). Fossil pollen and dinoflagellate cyst assemblages allowed depicting the climate history of the region over the last ~200–300 years. In contrast to the general warming trend observed in the arctic and subarctic Canada since the beginning of the Industrial Era, the Nunatsiavut has experienced relative climate stability over this period. Fossil pollen data show a shift of the tree limit to the south illustrating the cooling of terrestrial conditions. Our reconstructions suggest that the Labrador region has remained climatically stable over the last ~150–300 years, with just a slight cooling trend of the reconstructed sea surface temperatures, only perceptible in Saglek and Anaktalak fjords.

Lac Saint-Augustin is an urban lake located on the outskirts of Quebec City, one of North America’s oldest cities. Anthropogenic inputs from land clearing, agriculture, highway development and urbanization in the surrounding catchment have resulted in strong impacts on the limnology of the lake throughout the past three centuries. In recent years, this lake has experienced severe eutrophication, including persistent cyanobacterial blooms. In winter 2011, a sediment core was extracted from the deepest area of the lake. A detailed paleopigment analysis was used to assess eutrophication processes in the lake and to determine the timing and appearance of cyanobacterial blooms and their subsequent variability. Extracted chlorophyll a, its degradation products and 11 carotenoid pigments were identified and quantified via reverse-phase high performance liquid chromatography to examine relative changes in the phytoplankton. The results revealed large variations in the phytoplankton community structure of Lac Saint-Augustin over the past 356 years. Chlorophyll a concentrations per unit organic matter (OM) increased significantly from the base of the core to present day, rising more than 15-fold from 18.4 µg (g OM)−1 at the base of the core to 287 µg (g OM)−1 in the most recent strata. Biostratigraphical analysis revealed three major periods of enrichment, with episodes of cyanobacterial abundance from the 1890s onwards. The greatest changes occurred in the most recent period (from the 1960s to the present) relative to earlier periods, with pigment increases for all phytoplankton groups. The cyanobacterial pigments canthaxanthin, echinenone and zeaxanthin (also a marker for green algae) showed concentrations in the surface sediments that were significantly above values at the bottom of the core, and these differences were large, even giving consideration to the lesser pigment degradation near the surface. Overall, the results indicate that cyanobacterial blooms are not a recent feature of Lac Saint-Augustin but began to occur soon after catchment modification 150 years ago. The pigment records also imply that cyanobacterial and associated algal populations have risen to unprecedented levels over the last few decades of ongoing development of the Lac Saint-Augustin catchment. This study highlights the utility of multiple pigment analysis of lake sediments for identifying the timing and magnitude of anthropogenic impacts.

This study shows how modern diatom assemblages, obtained from the surface sediments of 55 deep and shallow lakes in southern Quebec and representing a gradient in trophic state and specific conductivity, can be used to reconstruct the historical water column concentrations of total phosphorus (TP) over time. Inference models were developed with the aid of regression analyses based on weighted means. The TP models demonstrate statistical performances equal to or superior to TP models developed in the past for other regions in Canada and elsewhere in the world. A reconstruction of TP values, based on fossil diatom assemblages of Lac Nairne (Charlevoix, QC), was conducted. Comparing the TP inferred values with the measured values and those estimated using export coefficients, the reliability of the model was proven. In addition, the comparison of the results obtained from reconstructions performed with two inference models (Quebec and Ontario lakes) also revealed that models predicted TP and not a collinear variable. Resume : Cet article vise amontrer que les assemblages de diatomees modernes repertoriees dans les sediments de surface de 55 lacs du Quebec meridional, representatifs d'un gradient d'etats trophiques, permettent de reconstituer les teneurs histo- riques en phosphore total (PT) qui prevalaient dans la colonne d'eau des lacs du Quebec. Pour ce faire, un modele d'inference a ete developpe al'aide d'analyses de regressions basees sur les moyennes ponderees. Les performances statistiques du modele de PT sont equivalentes ou superieures aux modeles developpes pour des regions differentes au Canada ou ailleurs dans le monde. Une reconstitution des valeurs de PT, basee sur les assemblages de diatomees fossiles du lac Nairne (Charlevoix, QC) a ete menee. La comparaison des valeurs de PT inferees avec les valeurs mesurees ainsi que celles estimees al'aide des coefficients d'exportation a montre la justesse du modele. De plus, la comparaison des resultats provenant de reconstitutions menees avec deux modeles d'inference (lacs du Quebec et de l'Ontario) a egalement montre que les modeles predisent le PT et non une variable colineaire.

Although widely distributed throughout Arctic and subarctic regions, thermokarst ponds and lakes remain relatively unexplored regarding geomorphological changes in their catchments and their internal properties in relation to climate change over the past decades. This study synthesizes recent landscape evolution and modern sedimentology of limnologically diverse thermokarst ponds near southeastern Hudson Bay, Canada. Spatio-temporal analysis of permafrost mounds, thermokarst ponds, and vegetation surface areas over the past five decades revealed that the recent climate-induced decrease of permafrost-affected areas was not primarily compensated by thermokarst pond development, but rather by a remarkable increase in vegetation cover. These changes appeared to be modulated by topographical and hydrological gradients at the study site, which are associated with east-ward increasing thickness of postglacial marine deposits. At a more contemporary timescale, physico-chemical measurements made on sedimenting materials (sediment traps) and freshly deposited lacustrine sediments of selected thermokarst ponds revealed striking differences both among ponds and between the oxic epilimnion and the oxygen-depleted hypolimnion. These findings underscore the major influence of local landscape properties and oxycline development on pond sedimentology and geochemistry, such as the transport of detritic particles and the concentration of redox-sensitive elements.

[1] Snowmelt is a crucial source of water for many shallow subarctic lakes, but climate models predict that snowfall will decrease in some regions, with profound ecological consequences. Here we use lake water isotope data across gradients of terrestrial vegetation cover (open tundra to closed forest) and topographic relief to identify lakes that are vulnerable to desiccation under conditions of low snowmelt runoff in two subarctic landscapes—Old Crow Flats, Yukon, and Hudson Bay Lowlands, Manitoba (Canada). Lakes located in low-relief, open tundra catchments in both landscapes displayed a systematic, positive offset between directly measured lake water δ18O over multiple sampling campaigns and lake water δ18O inferred from cellulose in recently deposited surface sediments. We attribute this offset to a strong evaporative 18O-enrichment response to lower-than-average snowmelt runoff in recent years. Notably, some lakes underwent near-complete desiccation during midsummer 2010 following a winter of very low snowfall. Based on the paleolimnological record of one such lake, the extremely dry conditions in 2010 may be unprecedented in the past ~200 years. Findings fuel concerns that a decrease in snowmelt runoff will lead to widespread desiccation of shallow lakes in these landscapes.

Zoological remains were examined from the sediments of the Pingualuit Crater Lake, Nunavik, Canada. Our objective was to describe past climate events in the area of delayed deglaciation in northernmost Ungava Peninsula. Our record covers 3 separate sections of deglacial and postglacial invertebrate dynamics interrupted by laminated proglacial sediments and a basin-scale erosive slumping event. The abundance of animal remains in the ultra-oligotrophic and extremely deep arctic lake was low, but distinct faunal assemblages were found among the intervals, results implying that they were environmentally heterogeneous. The lowermost fine-grained interval (before 6850 calibrated years before present (cal BP)), revealed that Cladocera Chydorus sphaericus-type and Bosmina (Eubosmina) longispina-type were common in the lake, whereas Chironomidae were relatively rare. The dominance of B. longispina-type showed that planktonic communities were successful at the time, probably indicating more favorable climatic conditions than today soon after the last deglaciation (,7000 cal BP). In the middle interval (between ,6850 and 5750 cal BP), chironomids became more common and were dominated by Heterotrissocladius subpilosus-type and Protanypus, taxa that are characteristic of oligotrophic lakes. The extirpation ofB. longispina-type suggests that planktonic invertebrate communities were not successful, probably because of predation by Arctic char. The presence of the chironomid Oliveridia tricornis-type during the late Holocene (between ,4200 and 600 cal BP) suggested general climate cooling. Our paleoclimatic conclusions on the regional environmental history suggest a stationary ice front in the initial stages of the Holocene, favorable climatic conditions in the mid- Holocene and a general late-Holocene cooling. Our records also indicate a subtle increase in nutrient availability throughout the Holocene. The paleoecological record from Pingualuit Crater Lake is valuable in describing the faunal history and biotic resilience in this environmentally extreme lake, which presently contains one of the world's softest and most transparent waters.

Thermokarst ponds are widespread in arctic and subarctic regions, but little is known about their temporal evolution prior to human observations. This paper presents a pioneer biostratigraphic study conducted at a subarctic site with limnologically contrasted ponds located on the eastern shore of Hudson Bay, Canada. Fossil diatom and visible near infrared (VNIR) derivative spectral analyses were performed on short sediment cores, confirming the occurrence of three distinct stratigraphic facies as already inferred from an anterior sedimentological study: a lacustrine upper facies (UF) and a marine lower facies (LF), separated by an organic-rich/peat transitional zone (TZ). Diatoms were almost absent from LF, but increased significantly in both TZ and UF. Identified diatom taxa were mainly benthic species (e.g. genera Fragilaria, Pinnularia), and their down-core distribution appeared to be related to dissolved organic carbon (DOC) and possibly pH conditions. Diatom-inferred DOC showed a decreasing trend towards the surface (potentially associated with an increase in pH), inverse to the general trend in this region, suggesting the action of other mechanisms on DOC, such as exhaustion of external inputs from limited catchments and the role of discontinuous peat layers (former surfaces of permafrost mounds) during the initial stages of pond formation. These bryophilous substrates in aerophilic habitats probably controlled diatom community composition. The combination of diatom and VNIR data revealed similar trends between (i) opal (amorphous silica) and diatom abundances; (ii) eukaryotic/prokaryotic algae ratio and anoxia or hypoxia in bottom waters; and (iii) limonite (iron oxide) and redox conditions in surface sediments. These findings indicate that diatom community changes and pond limnological evolution in the recent past were controlled mainly by autogenic processes (e.g. local vegetation/soil development, peat accumulation and erosion), rather than by allogenic forcing mechanisms (e.g. precipitation and temperature, geochemical leaching of the surrounding glaciomarine sediments).

Thermokarst lakes are widespread in arctic and subarctic regions. In subarctic Quebec (Nunavik), they have grown in number and size since the mid-20th century. Recent studies have identified that these lakes are important sources of greenhouse gases. This is mainly due to the supply of catchment-derived dissolved organic carbon that generates anoxic conditions leading to methane production. To assess the potential role of climate-driven changes in hydrological processes to influence greenhouse-gas emissions, we utilized water isotope tracers to characterize the water balance of thermokarst lakes in Nunavik during three consecutive mid- to late summer seasons (2012-2014). Lake distribution stretches from shrub-tundra overlying discontinuous permafrost in the north to spruce-lichen woodland with sporadic permafrost in the south. Calculation of lake-specific input water isotope compositions (I) and lake-specific evaporation-to-inflow (E/I) ratios based on an isotope-mass balance model reveal a narrow hydrological gradient regardless of diversity in regional landscape characteristics. Nearly all lakes sampled were predominantly fed by rainfall and/or permafrost meltwater, which suppressed the effects of evaporative loss. Only a few lakes in one of the southern sampling locations, which overly highly degraded sporadic permafrost terrain, appear to be susceptible to evaporative lake-level drawdown. We attribute this lake hydrological resiliency to the strong maritime climate in coastal regions of Nunavik. Predicted climate-driven increases in precipitation and permafrost degradation will likely contribute to persistence and expansion of thermokarst lakes throughout the region. If coupled with an increase in terrestrial carbon inputs to thermokarst lakes from surface runoff, conditions favorable for mineralization and emission of methane, these water bodies may become even more important sources of greenhouse gases.

Nettilling Lake is located on Baffin Island, Nunavut, Canada between the areas of past warming (Canadian High Arctic to the North) and climatic stability (Northern Quebec and Labrador region to the South). Despite being the largest lake in the Nunavut region with a postglacial marine to lacustrine transition history only a few paleo-environmental investigations were completed in this area. The oxygen isotope composition of diatoms (δ18Odiatom) can provide valuable insights into paleo-environmental conditions. Here, the recent (isotope) hydrology and hydrochemical data from the lake are presented to facilitate the interpretation of a δ18Odiatom record from an 82 cm sediment core (Ni-2B). The well-mixed lake (δ18Owater = −17.4‰) is influenced by a heavier (less negative) isotope composition (−18.80‰) from Amadjuak River draining Amadjuak Lake to the South and water of lighter (more negative) isotopic composition (−16.4‰) from the Isurtuq River originating from Penny Ice Cap in the North-East. From the δ18Owater and δ18Odiatom of the topmost sample of core Ni-2B a Δ18Osilica-water of 1000 ln α(silica-water) = 40.2‰ for sub-recent diatoms of Nettilling Lake was calculated matching the known water-silica fractionation for fossil sediments well and thereby showing the general applicability of this proxy for paleo-reconstructions in this region. Extremely large δ18Odiatom variations in the core of more than 13‰ are mainly induced by changes in the isotopic composition of the lake water due to a shift from glaciomarine (δ18Odiatom = +34.6‰) through brackish (+23.4 to +27.2‰) towards lacustrine (+21.5‰) conditions (transition zones glaciomarine to brackish at 69 cm/7300 yr cal. BP and brackish to lacustrine at 35 cm/6000 yr cal. BP) associated with a shift in the degree of salinity. Our study provides the first evidence that paleo-salinity can be reconstructed by δ18Odiatom. Additionally, for the lacustrine section it could be demonstrated that δ18Odiatom may serve as a proxy for past air temperature within the same core recording a late Holocene cooling of about 4 °C being consistent with other published values for the greater Baffin region.

Warwick F. Vincent1,2,3, Isabelle Laurion1,4, Reinhard Pienitz1,2,5, and Katey M. Walter Anthony6 1Center for Northern Studies (CEN), Quebec City, Canada 2Takuvik Joint International Laboratory, Universite Laval Canada—Centre national de la recherche scientifique (CNRS) (France) 3Departement de biologie, Universite Laval, Quebec City, Canada 4Institut national de la recherche scientifique—Centre Eau Terre Environnement (INRS-ETE), Quebec City, Canada 5Departement de geographie, Universite Laval, Quebec City, Canada 6Water and Environmental Research Center, University of Alaska, Fairbanks, USA

In order to document long-term climate cycles and predict future climate trends for the Arctic, geological records archived in ocean sediments can help establish the link between historical and pre-historical sea-surface parameters. Dinoflagellate cysts (dinocysts) are used as proxy indicators of sea-surface parameters (temperature, salinity, sea-ice cover, primary productivity) jointly with transfer functions and a modern dinocyst reference database, to reconstruct the evolution of sea-surface conditions at decadal and millennial timescales. Here we present the surface distribution of recent dinocyst assemblages in 13 surface samples collected in four Nunatsiavut fjords (northern Labrador, Canada) along a latitudinal gradient, and their relationship with various environmental and biological parameters. Dinocyst concentrations in surface sediments increased from the inner to the outer part of each fjord and also from the northernmost to the southernmost fjords. There was also a southward increase in the species diversity with an occurrence and a dominance of cysts from autotrophic dinoflagellates. The presence of cysts of the calcareous dinoflagellate species Scrippsiella cf. S. crystallina in Anaktalak Fjord, where mining activities are underway, appears to be an indicator of human-related pollution within the fjord.