Estimation of long-term Ph changes in lakes of the Caucasus using a bioindication method based on diatomaceous analysis

To analyze processes that may lead to long-term changes in pH, lake sediments from five small lakes in the Western and Central Caucasus were studied according to diatomaceous complexes from sediment cores. A proprietary principle of hydrological parameter unification was used to reconstruct numerical pH values. In isotopic dating experiments, a series of numerical pH values for 2000–130 years were generated for the lakes. These data indicate an absence of noticeable changes in pH in the lakes of the Western Caucasus and alkalization processes in the lakes of the Central Caucasus.