A 1600-year diatom record of hydroclimate variability from Wolf Lake, New York

Abstract

A high-resolution diatom record from Wolf Lake, a minimally disturbed ‘heritage’ lake, provides insights into the hydroclimatic history of the Adirondack Mountains of northern New York during the last c. 1600 years. Three pronounced dry periods occurred during c. AD 490–610, 780–870, and 1010–1080, and low precipitation generally prevailed during the warm Medieval Climate Anomaly ( c. AD 950–1350), a finding that fills an important gap in knowledge of the spatial extent of droughts across North America during that period. During the cooler ‘Little Ice Age’ interval ( c. AD 1350–1800), inferred water balance was generally more positive. Seven peaks in charcoal abundance represent fire events during both wet and dry periods. Unusually high charcoal and inorganic sediment deposition c. AD 1700 could reflect human activity in the watershed, as might an abrupt rise in the relative abundances of planktonic and tychoplanktonic diatoms in Wolf Lake during the AD 1860s. The diatom record displays periodicities of c. 256 and 512 years in addition to high-frequency fluctuations, suggesting that significant precipitation variability is likely to continue to disrupt climatic trends in this region.