SURFACE SEDIMENT DISTRIBUTION BY LAKE PROCESSES IN WYOGA LAKE, OH

Wyoga Lake is a kettle lake with an inflowing and outflowing stream located in Summit County, OH. Wyoga Lake sediment cores may contain a record of anthropogenic impacts to the lake and watershed. In order to better interpret downcore sediment changes, the present day controls on surficial sediment distribution must first be understood. 27 surface sediment samples were collected using a Wildco grab sampler at varying water depths. The samples were visually described for grain size and measured for percent water, wet and dry bulk density, organic content, and environmental magnetic parameters. The surface sediment samples can be divided into groups shallower and deeper than wave base. Two methods using maximum effective fetch and average top wind speeds yielded Wyoga Lake’s wave base of 1.5 m and 1.7 m. Shallower than 1.5 m water depth, the sediment has a high bulk density, low organic content, sand and gravel sized sediment with high ferrimagnetic concentration, and coarse multidomain magnetic grain size containing low coercivity magnetite. Deeper than 1.5 m water depth, the sediment has a low bulk density, high organic content, mud sized sediment with low ferrimagnetic concentration, and finer stable single domain/superparamagnetic grain size containing low coercivity titanomagnetite. The variation in surface sediment distribution is explained through sediment focusing where sediment resuspends and transports below wave base. Two samples do not represent the general sediment distribution and wave base trend. A sample collected on the delta front by the inflowing stream contains sand deeper than 1.5 m wave base that may have resulted from turbidity currents. A sample collected below wave base beside a patch of pond lilies contains mud and high organic content similar to samples deeper than wave base. A 2.4 m long core has been collected to interpret changes in Wyoga Lake processes and post-settlement impacts on soil erosion in the Wyoga Lake watershed.