Disturbed Sediments in a Small Alpine Lake in Colorado

Abstract

Palynologists, students of paleolimnology and others interested in former ecological conditions may study cores of sediments deposited in present or now-dry lake basins. Undisturbed sequences are crucial to drawing correct inferences from sedimentary records. Recently Nichols called attention to the disruption of tundra pond sediments by blocks of ice floating from the basin bottom to the water surface. This note records the derangement of sediments in a small alpine lake; while the actual disturbance was not witnessed, this type of event may be of frequent occurrence in remote mountainous areas and go unnoticed. Among the lakes receiving limnological study in Rocky Mountain National Park is a small unnamed tarn at the head of Fern Creek, a tributary of the Big Thompson River ....