Factors influencing temporal changes in chemical composition of biogenic deposits in the middle Tążyna River Valley (Kuyavian Lakeland, central Poland)
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Date
2016-08
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Instytut Geologii UAM
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Abstract
The present paper discusses the influence of geochemical properties on biogenic deposits in the Wilkostowo mire near
Toruń, central Poland. The analysed core has allowed the documentation of environmental changes between the older
part of the Atlantic Period and the present day (probably interrupted at the turn of the Meso- and Neoholocene). In
order to reconstruct the main stages in the sedimentation of biogenic deposits, we have used stratigraphic variability
of selected litho-geochemical elements (organic matter, calcium carbonate, biogenic and terrigenous silica, macro- and
micro-elements: Na, K, Mg, Ca, Fe, Mn, Cu, Zn, Pb, Cr and Ni). The main litho-geochemical component is CaCO 3 ; its
content ranges from 4.1 per cent to 92 per cent. The variability of CaCO 3 content reflects mainly changes in hydrolog-
ical and geomorphological conditions within the catchment area. The effects of prehistoric anthropogenic activities in
the catchment of the River Tążyna, e.g., the use of saline water for economic purposes, are recorded in a change from
calcareous gyttja into detritus-calcareous gyttja sedimentation and an increased content of lithophilous elements (Na,
K, Mg and Ni) in the sediments. Principal component analysis (PCA) has enabled the distinction the most important
factors that affected the chemical composition of sediments at the Wilkostowo site, i.e., mechanical and chemical den-
udation processes in the catchment, changes in redox conditions, bioaccumulation of selected elements and human
activity. Sediments of the Wilkostowo mire are located in the direct vicinity of an archaeological site, where traces of
intensive settlement dating back to the Neolithic have been documented. The settlement phase is recorded both in li-
thology and geochemical properties of biogenic deposits which fill the reservoir formed at the bottom of the Parchania
Canal Valley.
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Keywords
lake sediments, peat, geochemistry, human activity, central Europe
Citation
Geologos, 2016, 22, 2,pp.121-136
ISBN
ISBN 978-83-232187-4-6