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Biogenic silica in Lake Baikal sediments: results from 1990-1992 American cores

January 1, 1994

The Lake Baikal Paleoclimate Project is a joint Russian-American program established to study the paleoclimate of Central Asia. During three summer field seasons, duplicate Russian and American cores were taken at a number of sites in different sedimentary environments in the lake. Eight cores returned to the U.S. were quantitatively analyzed for biogenic silica using a single-step 5-hour alkaline leach, followed by dissolved silicon analysis by inductively-coupled-plasma atomic-emission spectroscopy. Sediments of Holocene age in these cores have biogenic silica maxima that range from about 15 to 80 percent. An underlying zone in each core with low biogenic-silica concentrations (0 to 5 percent) dates from the last glacial maximum. The transition from the last glaciation to the present interglaciation, recorded by biogenic silica, began about 13,000 years ago. Biogenic silica profiles from these cores appear to be a good measure of past diatom productivity and a useful basis for paleoclimatic interpretations.

Publication Year 1994
Title Biogenic silica in Lake Baikal sediments: results from 1990-1992 American cores
DOI 10.1016/S0380-1330(94)71192-8
Authors Susan J. Carter, Steven M. Colman
Publication Type Article
Publication Subtype Journal Article
Series Title Journal of Great Lakes Research
Index ID 70134523
Record Source USGS Publications Warehouse
USGS Organization Coastal and Marine Geology Program; Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center
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