The climate history of the major dryland zones of the world, such as the Saharo–Arabian Desert belt, plays a key role in the dispersal of early humans through these intermittently inhospitable regions. Here, we assess the relative intensity of Late Quaternary humid phases in northern Arabia through lithological, geochemical, palaeoecological and geochronological analysis of three sediment sequences in the Nefud Desert. Two seq...

We explored the roles of phytoplankton production, carbon source, and human activity on carbon accumulation in a eutrophic lake (Rostherne Mere, UK) to understand how changes in nutrient loading, algal community structure and catchment management can influence carbon sequestration in lake sediments. Water samples (dissolved inorganic, organic and particulate carbon) were analysed to investigate contemporary carbon sources. Mul...

Nutrient reduction in impacted lowland freshwater systems is ecologically and culturally important. Gaining a greater insight into how lakes respond to lowering nutrient loads and how climate-driven physical limnology affects present and future cycling of available nutrients is important for ecosystem resource management. This study examines the nutrient decline in a hypereutrophic freshwater lake (Rostherne Mere, Cheshire, UK...

Many studies have viewed lakes as quasi‐static systems with regard to the rate of organic carbon (OC) burial, assuming that the dominant control on BE is sediment mineralization. However, in systems undergoing eutrophication or oligotrophication (i.e., altered nutrient loading), or climatic forcing, the changes in primary production will vary on both longer (> 10 yr) and shorter (seasonal) timescales, influencing the rate of O...

Endemic planktonic diatoms are a major component of Lake Baikal sediments during interglacial periods. To investigate how these diatom assemblages are altered during sediment formation, quantitative plankton monitoring (1995–1998) was integrated with sediment trapping over 2 yr (1996–1997) in Baikal's southern basin (depth ~1,400 m). The traps consisted of both open (~6 monthly) and sequential (~2 weekly) collectors deployed t...

We explore possible quantitative relationships between diatom species and environmental data for Lake Baikal using multivariate techniques. Our approach differs from published studies in other regions (on training sets and transfer functions) because (1) although only one lake is examined, we use the internal lake gradients rather than gradients among lakes and (2) the majority of the dominant diatom taxa are endemic. Canonica...