Geochemistry of sediments in cores and sediment traps from Bear Lake, Utah and Idaho

The present study of Bear Lake began in 1998. Initially, the study utilized sediments from three long cores (up to 5 m) previously collected in 1996 and short cores (up to 40 cm) collected in 1998. The short cores were specifically acquired to preserve the uppermost layers of sediment that may have been lost in the long cores. In addition, three arrays of sediment traps were deployed during the summer of 1998, and sediment from these traps was collected during the summers of 1999 and 2000 (see Dean and others, 2005, for core and sediment trap locations). The cores and sediment traps were sampled, and splits were distributed to various investigators for analyses of a wide variety of sediment parameters. The chemical composition of the acid-soluble component of the sediments is presented in this report. HCl or HNO3 treatment of the sediment quantitatively dissolves the authigenic component of the sediment, a component that includes carbonates, sulfates, and iron-mono sulfides. In the case of Bear Lake, CaCO3 is the major component of the sediment today and for most of the Holocene (Dean and others 2005). The chemical composition of the acid-soluble fraction gives important information on this component and, therefore, insight into the chemical conditions of the lake at the time of carbonate deposition.