A model for linking grain-size component to lake level status of a modern clastic lake

Grain-size distributions of fluvial, eolian and marine sediments were explicated decades ago. For lake sediments, however, there is still great uncertainty in explaining the genesis of grain-size components due to the inherent complexity of their polymodal distributions. In this study, the grain-size components of the surface sediments of Daihai Lake, Inner Mongolia, were partitioned using a lognormal distribution function and the relationship between the identity of each component and the specific sedimentary environment was investigated. The data indicate that the modern clastic sediments of Daihai Lake contain five distinct unimodal grain-size distributions representing five grain-size components. Each of the components retains its identity including modal size, manner of transportation and environment of deposition although the relative percentage varies with the hydraulic condition throughout the lake. These components are specified from fine to coarse modes as long-term suspension clay, offshore-suspension fine silt and medium-to-coarse silt, and nearshore-suspension fine sand and saltation medium sand. The percentage of the components interpreted as an indication of nearshore environments displays a negative correlation with water depth across the modern lakebed, suggesting a model for linking the nearshore components in sediment cores to the lake level status in the geological past. The model was applied to a sediment core from the lake where high percentages of the nearshore components in the core sediments were correlated with low regional precipitations reconstructed on the pollen profile of the same core. The coincidences between two independent proxies do not only demonstrate the validity of lognormal distribution function in partitioning polymodal sediments but also reveals the potential of the grain-size component-lake level status model for lake's paleohydrological reconstruction. (C) 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.