The Hydrology–Geomorphology Interface: Rainfall, Floods, Sedimentation, Land Use
(Proceedings of the Jerusalem Conference, May 1999). IAHS Publ. no. 261, 2000. pp. 311–324.The geomorphic information content of lake sediments in glacially conditioned terrain
Olav Slaymaker & Brian Menounos
Department of Geography, The University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia V6T 1Z2, Canada
e-mail: olav@geog.ubc.ca
Abstract Sediment yield in glacially conditioned terrain in the Coast and Cascade Mountains of British Columbia is described from lacustrine sediments in 14 lakes. Six lake basins are heavily glacierized, six are glaciated but not glacierized and the final two are lightly glacierized. The central issue is the nature of the interlinkage between basin and lake as expressed by the amount and type of lake sediment delivery. The general conceptual model of suspended sediment yield as a function of basin area is complicated by the effects of glacier cover and hillslope–channel coupling. In the case of lake sediment delivery in glacially conditioned terrain, upstream trapping by other lakes is a major factor.
Key words
British Columbia Coast Mountains; glacially conditioned terrain; lake sediment cores;