Palaeolimnology and lake acidification - Palaeolimnological changes related to acid deposition and land-use in the catchments of two Norwegian soft-water lakes

This is a palaeolimnological study of two Norwegian soft-water lakes, one receiving high, the other low, deposition of sulphur and nitrogen compounds. At the site with low acid deposition inferred pH has oscillated between 5.6 and 5.9 and there is little evidence of atmospheric contamination. At the site with high acid deposition, many centuries of stability are followed by a rapid acidification from pH around 5 in 1900 to the present (1986) level of pH 4.4. In this lake, the sedimentary record indicates a close connection between acid deposition and recent lake acidification.