SEDIMENTATION HISTORIES AND TRACE METALS ANALYSIS FOR HONEOYE, SENECA, AND OWASCO LAKES, NEW YORK

Dated sediment cores from three of the Finger Lakes in western New York state (Honeoye, Seneca, and Owasco Lakes) provide information regarding lake chemistry and historic fluxes of trace metals to each lake. Gamma counting was used for Cs-137 and Pb-210 analyses of sediment core sections which yielded dating assignments and allowed for sedimentation accumulation modeling. Concentrations of several metals including lead, zinc, copper, arsenic, and manganese were determined with high precision by x-ray fluorescence (XRF) analysis. A long history of industrial development on the shores of Seneca Lake, including the operation of the Greenidge power plant from 1930 until 2011 is reflected in the sediment chronologies. In contrast, the Owasco Lake sediments reflect more regional trends in trace metal contamination with a strong signal from atmospheric deposition, most notably from the use of leaded gasoline in the United States. Owasco Lake sediments also exhibit enrichment in arsenic and manganese concentrations in upper core sections, which we interpret as an indicator of their redox geochemistry.