Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Early Lake Ontogeny Following Neoglacial Ice Recession At Glacier Bay, Alaska, Daniel R. Engstrom, Sherilyn C. Fritz

Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences: Faculty Publications

This study explores the environmental forces controlling lake ontogeny at Glacier Bay as a model for early Holocene lake evolution in north temperate lakes worldwide. Long-term chemical and biological changes in lakes are investigated with two complementary research strategies: (1) limnological conditions are compared among 32 lakes of known age and in different stages of primary catchment succession and (2) sediment cores from these same lakes are analyzed stratigraphically for fossil diatoms to ascertain developmental trends in pH, alkalinity, algal composition, and trophic status at individual sites.

Trends in water chemistry inferred from the chronosequence approach include a progressive loss …