RESUMO
The drivers of organic carbon (OC) burial efficiency are still poorly understood despite their key role in reliable projections of future climate trends. Here, we provide insights on this issue by presenting a paleoclimate time series of sediments, including the OC contents, from Lake Veliko jezero, Croatia. The Sr/Ca ratios of the bulk sediment are mainly derived from the strontium (Sr) and calcium (Ca) concentrations of needle-like aragonite in Core M1-A and used as paleotemperature and paleohydrology indicators. Four major and six minor cold and dry events were detected in the interval from 8.3 to 2.6 calibrated kilo anno before present (cal ka BP). The combined assessment of Sr/Ca ratios, OC content, carbon/nitrogen (C/N) ratios, stable carbon isotope (δ13C) ratios, and modeled geochemical proxies for paleoredox conditions and aeolian input revealed that cold and dry climate states promoted anoxic conditions in the lake, thereby enhancing organic matter preservation and increasing the OC burial efficiency. Our study shows that the projected future increase in temperature might play an important role in the OC burial efficiency of meromictic lakes.
RESUMO
The study presented in this work emerged as a result of a multiyear regional geochemical survey based on low-density topsoil sampling and the ensuing geochemical atlas of Croatia. This study focuses on the Dinaric part of Croatia to expound the underlying mechanisms controlling the mobilities and variations in distribution of potentially harmful elements as observed from different environmental angles. Although serious environmental degradation of the vulnerable karst soil landscapes was expected to occur chiefly through the accumulation of various heavy metals, the most acute threat materialized through the soil acidification (Al-toxicity) affecting the entire Dinaric karst area. This picture surfaced from the analysis of all three investigated discriminant function models employing the abovementioned environmental criteria selected autonomously with respect to the evaluated soil geochemistry, namely, geologic setting, regional placement and land use. These models are presented by not only the characteristic discriminant-function diagrams but also a set of appropriate mathematically derived geochemical maps disclosing the allocations of potential threats to the karst soil landscapes posed by soil acidity.
RESUMO
(137)Cs activity concentrations were studied in the sediment profiles collected at five locations in the Middle and South Adriatic. In the sediment profiles collected from the South Adriatic Pit, the deepest part of the Adriatic Sea, two (137)Cs peaks were identified. The peak in the deeper layer was attributed to the period of intensive atmospheric nuclear weapon tests (early 1960s), and the other to the Chernobyl nuclear accident (1986). Those peaks could be used to estimate sedimentation rates by relating them to the respective time periods. Grain-size analysis showed no changes in vertical distribution through the depth of the sediment profile, and these results indicate uniform sedimentation, as is expected in deeper marine environments. It was not possible to identify respective peaks on more shallow locations due to disturbance of the seabed either by trawlers (locations PalagruZa and Jabuka) or by river sediment (location Albania). The highest sedimentation rates were found in Albania (â¼4 mm y(-1)) and Jabuka (3.1 mm y(-1)). For PalagruZa, the sedimentation rate was estimated to be 1.8 mm y(-1), similar to the South Adriatic Pit where the sedimentation rate was estimated to be 1.8±0.5 mm y(-1). Low sedimentation rates found for the Middle and South Adriatic Sea are consistent with previously reported results for the rest of the Mediterranean.
