Sedimentation history of Lake Taymyr, Central Russian Arctic, since the Last Glacial Maximum

Hydro-acoustic and seismic data and 2- to 16-m-long sediment cores from the central area of Lake Taymyr (Taymyr Peninsula, central Russian Arctic) were investigated to reconstruct its sedimentation history. Granulometric, chronological, geochemical and biological data from the sediment cores reveal two lowstands and two highstands of the lake level, which is today located ca. 5 m above sea level during summer. Our study confirms the presence of an ice sheet blocking the drainage of Lake Taymyr during the latest Weichselian. Although chronological control of the sediment cores does not allow us to unambiguously constrain the time frame for each of the lake stages, the proposed timing of events is in good agreement with regional terrestrial archives as well as marine signals on the Kara Sea Shelf. Overall, the data show that the evolution of Lake Taymyr involved a complex interplay of regional climatic, glacial and sea-level changes.

Automated summary

The study of Lake Taymyr in the central Russian Arctic revealed two lowstands and two highstands of the lake level, with the current level about 5 meters above sea level during summer. An ice sheet was confirmed to have blocked the drainage of Lake Taymyr during the latest Weichselian. Data indicate that the evolution of Lake Taymyr involved a complex interplay of regional climatic, glacial, and sea-level changes.