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To understand how the climate system works in the continental interior, sediment cores that are approximately 30-cm long were taken from Olgoy, Boontsagaan, and Orog lakes, Mongolia. These cores were analyzed and compared with meteorological data (air temperature, precipitation, and wind) from climate stations in the study area. Comparison of metrological data from four stations shows similar climate fluctuations. When the temperature was high, less precipitation occurred in general. The sedimentary features measured in this study were water content, organic matter, carbonate, amorphous silica contents, whole and mineral grain size, and grain density. Excess 210Pb measurements were used to estimate sedimentary ages. According to principal component analysis (PCA), temperature correlates well to sediment characteristics in Olgoy Lake. Whole and mineral grain sizes are coarser when the temperature is high, while the amorphous-silica concentration is lower. A coarse grain size is interpreted to reflect low lake levels due to evaporation under high temperature with less precipitation. Amorphous silica may be from surrounding plants and reflects less vegetation when the temperature is high. However, in the recent 30 years, after the social system changed and overgrazing became a problem, the amount of amorphous silica has positively correlated with temperature on a short time scale. In the past 30 years, with less vegetation, amorphous silica has mainly come from weathered mineral particles. High temperature caused a thick, weathered mantle for each mineral particle, resulting in high amorphous-silica concentration. In Boontsagaan Lake, whole and mineral grain sizes are coarser when the wind speed is increased. Low precipitation correlates with a decrease in organic matter and an increase in carbonate and amorphous silica. In Orog Lake, it is difficult to establish an age model due to dried-up events. Some fluctuations in sedimentary characteristics may correspond to extreme events, such as earthquakes, and natural hazards, such as dzuds (harsh winters).

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), even at low concentrations, have been shown to trigger changes in life cycles and provoke abnormal behaviors in numerous marine organisms. From May 2019 to September 2020, particulate and dissolved PAH concentrations were analyzed on the surface water of West Nanao Bay, Japan, to determinate their levels, emission sources, environmental pathways, and ecological risks at this remote but semi-enclosed bay. The 14 targeted PAHs were analyzed by HPLC-fluorescence detector. Mean total PAH concentrations were lower than 20.0 ng L−1 for most samples. Based on fluoranthene (Flu) to pyrene (Pyr) ([Flu]/[Flu + Pyr]) and benzo[a]anthracene (BaA) to chrysene (Chr) ([BaA]/[BaA + Chr]) isomeric ratios and a varimax rotated PCA, it was established that biomass combustion was the principal source in the particulate phase and that liquid fossil fuel combustion was the principal source in the dissolved phase. From salinity and turbidity distribution, riverine discharges were determined to be the major and continuous transportation pathway of particulate PAHs. It was observed that rain events had a role in the transport of dissolved PAHs. The risk quotients (RQ∑14&nbsp, PAHs&nbsp, (NCs): 0–84.53) indicated that PAHs represented a very low to low acute environmental risk. The results of this study will contribute to filling the paradigm gap of ecotoxicological studies in remote areas, working as a booster for future in-lab studies of non-lethal implications of endocrine disruptors such as PAHs.