Lake Dian Biogeochemistry: Sediment, Water, and Source Data

Youhong Gao's dataset provides a multi-media biogeochemical record from Lake Dian, a shallow eutrophic plateau lake in southwest China. It includes sediment cores with high-resolution chronologies, surface and water column samples, pore water, and organic matter source data. The collection supports research on eutrophication, carbon cycling, and nutrient dynamics in plateau lake systems.

Use Cases

• Reconstructing historical nutrient loading using sediment core chronologies and phosphorus fractions.
• Modeling organic matter source contributions with δ¹³C, δ¹⁵N, and C/N data from algae, plants, and sewage.
• Analyzing seasonal water column dynamics from rainy and dry season nutrient and chlorophyll-a profiles.
• Assessing carbon storage and cycling via high-resolution TOC, IC, and δ¹³C measurements in sediments.

Strengths

• Includes eight dated sediment cores with high-resolution (0.5 cm interval) biogeochemical measurements.
• Contains multi-media samples: 100 surface sediments, water column profiles, pore water, and source end-members.
• Data underwent quality control with reference materials, replicate analyses, and blank tests.
• Released under a permissive CC-BY-4.0 license.

Limitations

• Column names and a precise row count are not provided in the available metadata.
• The dataset size (652974) is given, but its unit (likely bytes) and structure are unspecified.

Provenance

Source

Youhong Gao

Collection Method

Field sampling and laboratory analysis of sediment cores, surface sediments, water, pore water, and source materials.

Time Range

Sediment cores provide a historical record; water samples were collected in October 2023 and April 2024.

Freshness

Last updated March 22, 2026.

Geography

Lake Dian (Dianchi), a shallow eutrophic plateau lake in southwest China.