Relationship between 210Pbex activity and sedimentary organic carbon in sediments of 3 Chinese lakes

This report demonstrates that organic matter was an important factor in lake sediment 210Pbex dating. Sediment cores from lakes in central and western China with different-trophic levels were collected, and the 210Pbex activity and total organic carbon (TOC) were measured. The Rock-Eval pyrolysis technique was used to deconvolute TOC into free hydrocarbons (S1), thermally less-stable macromolecular organic matter (S2a), kerogen (S2b), and residual carbon (RC). The results show significant correlations between TOC and 210Pbex, particularly between S2a and 210Pbex, in all the sediment cores. This indicated that the algal-derived organic component S2a may play the most important role in controlling the distribution of 210Pbex. Scavenging by algal-derived organic matter may be the main mechanism. As chronology is the key to the understanding of pollution reconstruction and early diagenesis in sediments, more attention should be paid to the influence of organic matter on 210Pbex.

► Organic matter may also be an important factor in lake sediment 210Pbex dating. ► TOC showed significant correlations with 210Pbex in all studied cores. ► The algal-derived S2a played the most important role. ► The multiple linear regression model could well interpret the 210Pbex profiles.