High-resolution varve studies in Baldeggersee (Switzerland): Project overview and limnological background data

Abstract

This introduction to a series of high-resolution varve studies in Baldeggersee provides both an overview of the different subprojects as well as background information on relevant limnological trends. The project was based on a new method of in-situ freezing of unconsolidated surficial sediments in deep lakes. With this freeze-core technique a detailed, high-resolution stratigraphy of the varved sediments at the deepest point of Baldeggersee has been established for the period of 1885–1993. Annual and seasonal sediment samples were analyzed. Concentrations of redox active metals in sediments were calibrated as proxy indicators for the reconstruction of hypolimnetic oxygen conditions. Particle size analysis and varve measurements were used to discriminate between the influence of nutrients and climate on sediment formation and accumulation. Baldeggersee is an ideal system for calibrating indicators of deep-water oxygen concentrations because it underwent dramatic changes in nutrient loading and redox conditions during this century. The hypolimnion has been seasonally anoxic for the last 100 years and phosphorus content decreased by a factor of five in the last 20 years. Meromixis was observed between 1960 and 1980. Since 1983 the deep water has been artificially oxygenated. This well documented change in deep-water oxygen concentration represents a unique whole-lake experiment that can be used to analyze the geochemical response of the sediments.