Abstract

From a warming world, the Younger Dryas presents a return to near-glacial conditions that persisted for around 1,300 years. Known for its abrupt cooling in the Northern Hemisphere, this period is seen through global proxy records such as lake sediments. Lake records provide a way to uncover past environmental conditions hidden within ancient sediment such as changes in pH, temperature, and nutrient abundance. Within Ohio, the Younger Dryas is sparsely studied, leaving large research gaps. This study presents geochemical, lithologic, and diatom analyses from Brown’s Lake, Wayne County, Ohio to help discover how the lake documents the time leading up to and during the Younger Dryas. This analysis provides further understanding of large-scale climate change events to help improve our understanding of the Earth’s climate system and to help predict future climate changes. The transition from into the Younger Dryas showed intermittent influxes of aeolian sedimentation, a change to an alkaline environment indicated by lack of diatom preservation shown physically through slides and chemostratigraphically through the Si/Ti and Si/Al ratios, and magnetic susceptibility peaks at coarser sediments and a drastic relative decrease that corresponds to a deposition of black mud. Climate is a complex, ever changing system that affects every aspect of life. Understanding even just a small piece through a lacustrine system in Ohio helps join together the large, complex puzzle that is climate.

Advisor

Lyon, Eva

Department

Earth Sciences

Keywords

Diatoms, Limnology, Paleoecology, Paleoenvironment, Brown's Lake

Publication Date

2026

Degree Granted

Bachelor of Arts

Document Type

Senior Independent Study Thesis

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© Copyright 2026 Evie Sanford