Evolution of sedimentation environments in the palaeo-bay of Lake Ladoga (as inferred from litho-, bio- and chronostratigraphic studies of the sediments of Lake Lavijarvi, northern coast of Lake Ladoga)

The article presents the results of studying the organic matter content, granulometric composition, diatom analysis and radiocarbon dating of bottom sediments of Lake Lavijarvi (northern Priladozhye), which was formerly a bay of Lake Ladoga. The data obtained made it possible to identify the main stages of the reservoir development, the sediments of which are characterized by different organic matter content, the ratio of clay and silt fractions, the composition of diatom complexes and the concentrations of siliceous microfossils, and to compare them with the main stages of Lake Ladoga development. The most controversial are the time and environments of formation of the most ancient sediments in the basin of Lake Lavijarvi, which, based on the totality of the results obtained, can be attributed to both the end of the Late Glacial and the Early Holocene. At the early stages of development (up to ~9200 cal. BP), the conditions in the basin of Lake Lavijarvi were similar to those in Lake Ladoga. Later (~9200–3900 cal BP), local factors became more pronounced and conditions in Lake Lavijärvi differed from those in the open part of Lake Ladoga. The predominance of benthic diatoms indicates a wide distribution of shallow-water areas in the Ladoga paleobay. The specificity of the conditions of this stage is also evidenced by the high relative content of golden algae cysts, which is not typical for deposits of the second half of the Holocene in the Lake Ladoga basin. The isolation of Lake Lavijärvi as a result of the completion of the Middle Holocene Ladoga transgression, the formation of the Neva River, and the drop in the level of Lake Ladoga to modern marks occurred after 3900 cal BP. The isolated lake stage is characterized by a low content of organic matter, which is not typical for Holocene deposits of small lakes in the region, and by abrupt changes in the composition of diatom assemblages.

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