The Holocene record of lake levels of Mansell Pond, central Maine, USA

A palaeohydrological study of Mansell Pond, a small (4 ha), closed-basin lake in central Maine, revealed distinct changes in lake levels throughout the Holocene. We examined the texture, organic content and macrofossils of eight cores and obtained 29 radiocarbon dates on transitions between sedimentary units. The water level fell between about 8000 C-14 yr BP and 6000 C-14 yr BP, and remained low until after 5000 C-14 yr BP. The water level may have begun rising as early as 4750 C-14 yr BP, with the most rapid increase occurring from 3225 C-14 yr BP to 2780 C-14 yr BP. This interpretation varies at some points from an earlier assessment of Mansell Pond's Holocene lake levels that was based on pollen and charcoal evidence from a single core. Records of Holocene lake levels from eastern Canada, the Lake Ontario region and southern New England are inconsistent with each other, suggesting that the influence of dominant air masses has been highly localized in this region.