Morphological and lithological transformation records of the Lake Czechowskie basin on the basis of paleogeography and GIS techniques analysis

Abstract:

The analyses of the annually laminated lacustrine sediments are particularly important in the studies of global climate change. They provide information about the ecosystem response to environmental and climate changes. The condition for the laminated sedimentation with the annual resolution is a calm sedimentation environment where there is no mixing and thus there are anaerobic conditions in the benthic zone. Below a certain depth there is no wave induced mixing and temperature is constant, which causes water stagnation. In shallower areas such conditions are favoured by the morphology of the lake basin and the long presence of ice cover (bradymictic). The combination of these environmental features predispose to the deposition of laminated sediments. Lake Czechowskie is located within the limit of the Scandinavian Ice Sheet during the Last Glaciation in the Central European Lowland (northern Poland – 53°52”N 18°14”E) in a deep kettle-hole type. Taking into account the thickness of the lacustrine sediments, the maximum depth of the basin exceeds 70 m. Detailed surveying as well as geological drilling using the GIS techniques made it possible to reconstruct the morphology of the basin of Lake Czechowskie and its adjacent areas before the biogenic sedimentation started in Allerød. At that time water level was 2 m higher than in the modern times. Following climate changes initiated the natural processes of the lake basin transformation. The analysis of the morphology of the lake basin is the basis for modelling the sedimentation conditions considering, inter alia, the wind direction and wind velocity, fluctuations of the water levels and the degree of filling the basin with the deposits in different periods of the Late Glacial and Holocene. It allows specifying the variability and sedimentation rate within the basin. The analysis shows the spatial variation of the erosion and accumulation zones, and enables to determine the zones of calm sedimentation revealing places particularly predisposed to accumulate annually laminated lacustrine sediments. This study is a contribution to the Virtual Institute of Integrated Climate and Landscape Evolution (ICLEA) of the Helmholtz Association and the research project no. 2011/01/B/ST10/07367 Polish Ministry of Science and Higher Education.