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Covering 55% of Canada's total surface area and stretching from coast to coast to coast, the Canadian boreal zone is crucial to the nation's economic and ecological integrity. Although often viewed as relatively underdeveloped, it is vulnerable to numerous stressors such as mining, forestry, and anthropogenic climate change. Natural archives preserved in lake sediments can provide key insights by quantifying pre-disturbance conditions (pre-1850 CE) and the nature, magnitude, direction, and speed of environmental change induced by anthropogenic stressors over the past ∼150 years. Here, we paired a review of paleolimnological literature of the Canadian boreal zone with analyses of published sediment core data to highlight the effects of climate change, catchment disturbances, and atmospheric deposition on boreal lakes. Specifically, we conducted quantitative syntheses of two lake health indicators: elemental lead (Pb) and chlorophyll a. Segmented regressions and Mann–Kendall trend analysis revealed a generally increasing trend in elemental Pb across the boreal zone until ∼1970 CE, followed by a generally decreasing trend to the present. Snapshot comparisons of sedimentary chlorophyll a from recent and pre-industrial sediments (i.e., top-bottom sediment core design) revealed that a majority of sites have increased over time, suggesting a general enhancement in lake primary production across the boreal zone. Collectively, this body of work demonstrates that long-term sediment records offer a critical perspective on ecosystem change not accessible through routine monitoring programs. We advocate using modern datasets in tandem with paleolimnology to establish baseline conditions, measure ecosystem changes, and set meaningful management targets. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We measured the molybdenum isotope compositions (δ98Mo) of well-dated sediment cores from two lakes in eastern Canada in an effort to distinguish between natural and anthropogenic contributions to these freshwater aquatic systems. Previously, Chappaz et al.(1) ascribed pronounced 20th-century Mo concentration enrichments in these lakes to anthropogenic inputs. δ98Mo values in the deeper sediments (reflecting predominantly natural Mo sources) differ dramatically between the two lakes: -0.32 ± 0.17‰ for oxic Lake Tantare and +0.64 ± 0.09‰ for anoxic Lake Vose. Sediment layers previously identified as enriched in anthropogenic Mo, however, reveal significant δ98Mo shifts of ±0.3‰, resulting in isotopically heavier values of +0.05 ± 0.18‰ in Lake Tantare and lighter values of +0.31 ± 0.03‰ in Lake Vose. We argue that anthropogenic Mo modifies the isotopic composition of the recent sediments, and we determine δ98Moanthropogenic values of 0.1 ± 0.1‰ (Lake Vose) and 0.2 ± 0.2‰ (Lake Tantare). These calculated inputs are consistent with the δ98Mo of molybdenite (MoS2) likely delivered to the lakes via smelting of porphyry copper deposits (Lake Vose) or through combustion of coal and oil also containing Mo (Lake Tantare). Our results confirm the utility of Mo isotopes as a promising fingerprint of human impacts and perhaps the specific sources of contamination. Importantly, the magnitudes of the anthropogenic inputs are large enough, relative to the natural Mo cycles in each lake, to have an impact on the microbiological communities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: This article presents an analysis of Geological Survey of Canada (GSC) open-file data for total Hg concentrations (THg) in stream and lake sediments at 142,028 sampling locations. This analysis was done for select survey zones across Canada, with emphasis on discerning THg-relevant geographic, geological, atmospheric and topographic controls. THg was generally highest in areas affected by mining and smelting, followed by areas with high metallogenic source locations. Background levels for THg were elevated in the more populated areas along the south, but dropped toward the remote and coldest locations in the east, north and west. This trend was correlated (R 2 =0.74; P <0.0001) with the 2005 GRAHM projections (Global/Regional Atmospheric Heavy Metals Model) for atmospheric Hg deposition (zones and locations with major geogenic sources and mining activities removed). Mean THg was higher for upland lakes (100.9±0.5 SE, ppb) and streams (71.7±0.6 SE, ppb) than for lowland lakes (94.4±0.86 SE, ppb) and streams (64.2±1.26 SE, ppb). The east-central portion of the Yukon Territory (Selwyn Basin) was analyzed in further detail. Here, THg within the sediments increased with increasing loss-on-ignition and increasing trace-element concentrations, and decreased with an increasing wet-area component per catchment above the sediment sampling locations. The characterization and quantification of these Hg trends is important for modeling and mapping health risks to ecosystems and communities across Canada and elsewhere. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]