Paleoenvironmental studies of black carbon deposition in the High Arctic: a case study from Northern Ellesmere Island

The application of palcolimnological techniques to studies of anthropogenic black carbon particles in Lower Dumbell Lake, Northern Ellesmere Island, Northwest Territories, Canada, reveals a stratigraphic record of particle deposition over time. Comparison of the anthropogenic black carbon record with the paleoecological record of diatom assemblages in this lake indicates that the diatom flora developed within the period of anthropogenic black carbon particle deposition. This result supports an inference of very recent environmental change.