Historical changes in the concentrations of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in Lake Peipsi sediments

The distribution of 11 individual polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) was analysed in a (210)Pb dated sediment core from the deepest area of Lake Peipsi and in four surface sediment samples taken from littoral areas. According to the concentrations in the core three groups of PAHs may be distinguished: (1) relatively stable concentrations of PAHs within the whole studied time interval; (2) very low concentrations in sediments accumulated before intensive anthropogenic impact (from 19th century up to the 1920s) following a slight increase and (3) an overall increase in PAH concentrations since the 1920s up to the present. Comprehensive analysis of PAHs in the core and monitoring data obtained in the 1980s together with the lithology of sediments show that an increase of anthropogenically induced PAHs correlates well with the history of fuel consumption in Estonia and speaks about atmospheric long-distance transport of PAHs. The continuous increase of PAH concentrations since the 1920s do not support the earlier hypothesis about the dominating impact of the oil shale fired power plants near the lake, because their emissions decreased significantly in the 1990s. The concentration of PAHs in the deep lake core sample correlates well with the content of organic matter, indicating absorption and co-precipitation with plankton in the sediment.     

A Comparison of Sediment and Monitoring Data: Implications for Paleomonitoring a Small Lake

Long-term limnological monitoring data (from 1971 to 2001) were compared with sediment core record in Lake Viitna Linajärv (hereafter L. Viitna), a small lake in northern Estonia. The monitoring data show that L. Viitna changed from mesotrophic in the 1970s to eutrophic in the 1990s. The trends of paleodata thatintegrate the changes in the biogeochemical matter cycling in the lake over 2–3 years have clear signals about changes in the state ofthe ecosystem in L. Viitna during the last decades. A gradual increase in organic productivity should reflect a greater oxygen demand in the hypolimnion. As a result the hypolimnion becameseasonally anoxic earlier and its pH level remained low for a longer time. These fundamental changes near the sediment-water interface were recorded in the sediment core. The greatest changes occurred at the beginning of the 1980s (layers at a depthof ca. 20 cm), when the meso(eu?)trophic conditions in L. Viitnastarted to become increasingly more eutrophic. The variations ofpaleorecords in the upper part of the sediment core coincide temporally with changes in the water level of the lake.     

C/N ratio and fossil pigments in sediments ofsome Estonian lakes: an evidence of human impact andHolocene environmental change

The content of carbon (C), nitrogen(N), fossil carotenoids (TC) and chlorophyllderivatives (CD) in the sediments of five Estonianlakes was analysed. Historical records of man-inducedchanges on catchments were used for the interpretationof the obtained data. On the basis of the C/N ratiosit was estimated that the planktonic matter formed ca.25% (C/N ratio 24) to 90% (C/N ratio 8) of theorganic pool matter of lake sediments. In eutrophicLake Ruusmäe the fraction of the phytoplanktonproduced in lakes was highest, amounting toapproximately 80–95% of the deposited organic matter.Remarkable C/N changes were noted in the sedimentsfrom lakes Matsimäe and Viitna, where the contentof planktonic matter has increased during lastdecades, reflecting an increase in recreationalactivity around these lakes. The variations in pigmentconcentrations in the sediments of lakes Matsimäeand Ruusmäe could be explained by changes in theland-use that have altered the intensity of primaryproduction and conditions of TC and CD degradationbefore the final burial.     

The Impact of Lake-level Fluctuations on the Sediment Composition

Lithological and granulometric investigations of the surface and short core sediments in L. Martiska (northeastern Estonia) showed that variations in the grain-size parameters and LOI content were influenced by the changes in deposition conditions during the regression and transgression phases monitored in the lake since the 1960s. During the regression and transgression phases displacement of the erosion-transport-accumulation zones in the lake took place depending on the bottom topography. The water level fluctuations are especially clearly reflected in grain-size variations in cores from peripherial area.     

波罗的海沿岸三国环境政策制订的驱动力

本文详尽阐述了国际环境体制和多边环境协议在波罗的海沿岸三国（爱沙尼亚、拉脱维亚和立陶宛）制订本国环境政策过程中所起的作用。将污染物排放趋势与环境状况变化参照国际环境体制进行对比后可以得出结论，正式加入环境公约与环境领域所发生的变化之间并没有明显的联系。这三个波罗的海沿岸国家的做法是，先加入涉及全球性或区域性环境安全的国际环境体制，尔后才接受对于解决其自身环境问题比较重要的协议并加入相关的体制。因此，可以断定，这三个国家在制订自身环境政策过程中把国际法律文件看作是预防性的，而非整治性的。另一方面，它们认为，积极参与多边环境协议，对于在其环境政策方面采取下一个步骤，即接受欧盟的环境政策（"欧亚体经验规范"）（Acquis Communautaire），将起着巨大推动作用。     

The Sensitivity and Adaptation of Ecosystems to the Disturbances: A Case Study in Northeastern Estonia

The study focused on the problem of the response and adaptation of an ecosystem to natural fire in case of greenhouse warming. The palaeoecological approach was used and reconstructions were made for timeca 6000 years ago, when the human impact in the studied area was absent or very weak and the summer temperatures were about 2.4 degrees higher than at the present time. The palaeoreconstructions were compliled using the charcoal, pollen and diatoms data from the sediments of a northeast Estonian lake. The results show that forest fires influenced the biota of the lake mainly through evapotranspiration and the accompanying erosional changes. The impacts of the fire directly to the lake ecosystem were short-term and the primary diatom association was restored after 10–15 years. The pollen influx was influenced by the fires mainly through the changes in the openness of the landscape and the composition of the pollen spectra was restored over a period of 50–60 years. The data demonstrate the high ability of the studied ecosystem to adapt to the impact of natural fires in the climatic environment comparable with that predicted for the future.