Diatoms from one long core were examined in order to describe the changes that have occurred in Lake C2 since its inception as the basin was isolated from the sea and to determine if any other marked environmental changes can be deciphered from these data. This study provides a long-term perspective on diatom species changes, from which more recent successional changes (i.e. the last two centuries; Ludlam et al., 1995) can be compared.
Diatoms preserved in the sediments of Lake C2 (82° 50'N, 76° 00'W), a high arctic meromictic lake, track changes in the lake's salinity which have occurred as the basin was isolated from the sea. The relative abundance of major diatom taxa were identified in core C2-92-72A/B. See Lake sediments in Lake C2 for the position of this core.