The sedimentary record of spheroidal carbonaceous fly-ash particles in shallow Danish lakes

Abstract

Spheroidal carbonaceous particles (SCP) from combustion of oil and coal have been quantified in cores from top sediments of Danish shallow lakes. Chronologies were provided by 210Pb-dating supplemented by measurements of other radionuclides (137Cs, 134Cs, 241Am). All cores show indications of sediment mixing but most still retain a characteristic SCP record. Deposition rates of SCP were low until the 1920s, increased strongly after World War II, reached maximum levels around 1970 and decreased thereafter. These results were used to infer a new chronology for a sediment core from a shallow lake, from which a 210Pb chronology had previously been published. SCP inventories are positively correlated with 210Pb inventories and dry matter accumulated since 1900, suggesting that absolute SCP accumulation rates may be more influenced by sedimentary processes than by atmospheric fluxes. The concentrations of SCP in surface sediments of the six lakes do, however, correlate with regional SO2 emissions.