Vasskog et al., Supplementary Material

Literature study

In order to investigate how grain-size analysis is commonly performed and implemented in environmental lake studies, a literature study was performed, which included 95 papers published from January 2000 through 2013 in the journals Sedimentology (n=2), Quaternary Research (n=13), Quaternary Science Reviews (n=10), The Holocene (n=19), Journal of Quaternary Science (n=5) and Journal of Paleolimnology (n=46) (Fig. S1, references are listed below). Of the surveyed papers, 40% report pre-treating the sediment with hydrogen peroxide for removal of organic matter prior to analysis and of these only 8% describe the pre-treatment methodology in sufficient detail for it to be replicated (i.e. the concentration and temperature of the hydrogen peroxide and duration of the treatment). 60% does not report any form of pre-treatment aimed at removing organic matter.

Figure S1. Number of lake studies published in the journals Sedimentology, The Holocene, Journal of Quaternary Science, Quaternary Research, Quaternary Science Reviews, and Journal of Paleolimnology, where grain-size analysis was part of the methodology. Papers in which pre-treatment with hydrogen peroxide was applied are indicated with red bars and papers where no pre-treatment was used or described are shown in blue.

Papers included in literature study

An C-B, Zhao J, Tao S, Lv Y, Dong W, Li H, Jin M, Wang Z (2011) Dust variation recorded by lacustrine sediments from arid Central Asia since ~15 calka BP and its implication for atmospheric circulation. Quaternary Res 75:566-573

Arnaud F (2005) Discriminating bio-induced and detrital sedimentary processes from particle size distribution of carbonates and non-carbonates in hard water lake sediments. J Paleolimnol 34:519-526

Augustinus P, Bleakley N, Deng Y, Shane P, Cochran U (2008) Rapid change in early Holocene environments inferred from Lake Pupuke, Auckland City, New Zealand. J Quaternary Sci 23:435-447

Augustsson A, Gaillard M-J, Peltola P, Mazier F, Bergbäck B, Saarinen T (2013) Effects of land use and climate change on erosion intensity and sediment geochemistry at Lake Lehmilampi, Finland. Holocene 23:1247-1259

Bertrand S, Boës X, Castiaux J, Charlet F, Urrutia R, Espinoza C, Lepoint G, Charlier B, Fagel N (2005) Temporal evolution of sediment supply in Lago Puyehue (Southern Chile) during the last 600 yr and its climatic significance. Quaternary Res 64:163-175

Bertrand S, Charlet F,Charlier B, Renson V, Fagel N (2008) Climate variability of southern Chile since the Last Glacial Maximum: a continuous sedimentological record from Lago Puyehue (40 S). J Paleolimnol 39:179-195

Blass A, Grosjean M, Livingstone DM, Sturm M (2008) Signature of explosive volcanic eruptions in the sediments of a high-altitude Swiss lake. J Paleolimnol 39:35-42

Bøe A-G, Dahl SO, Lie Ø, Nesje A (2006) Holocene river floods in the upper Glomma catchment, southern Norway: a high-resolution multiproxy record from lacustrine sediments. Holocene 16:445-455

Campbell I, Last WM, Campbell C, Clare S, McAndrews JH (2000) The late holocenepaleohydrology of Pine Lake, Alberta: a multiproxy investigation. J Paleolimnol 24:427-441

Caseldine C, Geirsdóttir Á, Langdon P (2003) Efstadalsvatn–a multi-proxy study of a Holocene lacustrine sequence from NW Iceland. J Paleolimnol 30:55-73

Chen H-F, Wen S-Y, Song S-R, Yang T-N, Lee T-Q, Lin S-F, Hsu S-C, Wei K-Y, Chang P-Y, Yu P-S (2012) Strengthening of paleo-typhoon and autumn rainfall in Taiwan corresponding to the Southern Oscillation at late Holocene. J Quaternary Sci 27:964-972

Chen J, Zhang E, Brooks SJ, Huang X, Wang H, Liu J, Chen F (2012) Relationships between chironomids and water depth in Bosten Lake, Xinjiang, northwest China. J Paleolimnol 51:313-323

Cockburn JM, Lamoureux SF (2008) Inflow and lake controls on short-term mass accumulation and sedimentary particle size in a High Arctic lake: implications for interpreting varved lacustrine sedimentary records. J Paleolimnol 40:923-942

Conroy JL, Overpeck JT, Cole JE, Shanahan TM, Steinitz-Kannan M (2008) Holocene changes in eastern tropical Pacific climate inferred from a Galápagos lake sediment record. Quaternary Sci Rev 27:1166-1180

Dapples F, Lotter AF, van Leeuwen JF, van der Knaap WO, Dimitriadis S, Oswald D (2002) Paleolimnological evidence for increased landslide activity due to forest clearing and land-use since 3600 cal BP in the western Swiss Alps. J Paleolimnol 27:239-248

Dietze E, Wünnemann B, Hartmann K, Diekmann B, Jin H, Stauch G, Yang S, Lehmkuhl F (2013) Early to mid-Holocene lake high-stand sediments at Lake DonggiCona, northeastern Tibetan Plateau, China. Quaternary Res 79:325-336

Dong X, Bennion H, Battarbee RW, Sayer CD (2012) A multiproxy palaeolimnological study of climate and nutrient impacts on Esthwaite Water, England over the past 1200 years. Holocene 22:107-118

Fedotov AP, Phedorin MA, De Batist M, Ziborova GA, Kazansky AY, Semenov MY, Matasova GG, Khabuev AV, Kugakolov SA, Rodyakin SV (2008) A 450-ka long record of glaciation in Northern Mongolia based on studies at Lake Khubsugul: high-resolution reflection seismic data and grain-size variations in cored sediments. J Paleolimnol 39:335-348

Foster GC, Chiverrell RC, Harvey AM, Dearing JA, Dunsford H (2008) Catchment hydro-geomorphological responses to environmental change in the Southern Uplands of Scotland. The Holocene 18:935-950

Francus P, von Suchodoletz H, Dietze M, Donner RV, Bouchard F, Roy A-J, Fagot M, Verschuren D, Kröpelin S (2013) Varved sediments of Lake Yoa (OuniangaKebir, Chad) reveal progressive drying of the Sahara during the last 6100 years. Sedimentology 60:911-934

Geirsdóttir Á, Miller GH, Thordarson T, Ólafsdóttir KB (2009) A 2000 year record of climate variations reconstructed from Haukadalsvatn, West Iceland. J Paleolimnol 41:95-115

Giguet-Covex C, Arnaud F, Poulenard J, Enters D, Reyss J-L, Millet L, Lazzaroto J, Vidal O (2010) Sedimentological and geochemical records of past trophic state and hypolimnetic anoxia in large, hard-water Lake Bourget, French Alps. J Paleolimnol 43:171-190

Giralt S, Rico-Herrero M, Vega J, Valero-Garcés BL (2011) Quantitative climate reconstruction linking meteorological, limnological and XRF core scanner datasets: the Lake Sanabria case study, NW Spain. J Paleolimnol 46:487-502

GrundellR, Gell P, Mills K, Zawadzki A (2012) Interaction between a river and its wetland: evidence from the Murray River for spatial variability in diatom and radioisotope records. J Paleolimnol 47:205-219

Haliva-Cohen A, Stein M, Goldstein SL, Sandler A, Starinsky A (2012) Sources and transport routes of fine detritus material to the Late Quaternary Dead Sea basin. Quaternary Sci Rev 50:55-70

Hatfield RG, Maher BA (2008) Suspended sediment characterization and tracing using a magnetic fingerprinting technique: Bassenthwaite Lake, Cumbria, UK. Holocene 18:105-115.

Hausmann S, Larocque-Tobler I, Richard PJH, Pienitz R, St-Onge G, Fye F (2011) Diatom-inferred wind activity at Lac du Sommet, southern Québec, Canada: A multiproxy paleoclimate reconstruction based on diatoms, chironomids and pollen for the past 9500 years. Holocene 21:925-938

Huamei L, Xiaoqiang Y, Heller F, Haitao L (2008) High resolution magnetostratigraphy and deposition cycles in the Nihewan Basin (North China) and their significance for stone artifact dating. Quaternary Res 69:250-262

Huang X, Oberhänsli H, von Suchodoletz H, Sorrel P (2011) Dust deposition in the Aral Sea: implications for changes in atmospheric circulation in central Asia during the past 2000 years. Quaternary Sci Rev 30:3661-3674

Hyatt JA, Gilbert R (2000) Lacustrine sedimentary record of human-induced gully erosion and land-use change at Providence Canyon, southwest Georgia, USA. J Paleolimnol 23:421-438

Kasper T, Haberzettl T, Doberschütz S, Daut G, Wang J, Zhu L, Nowaczyk N, Mäusbacher R (2012) Indian Ocean Summer Monsoon (IOSM)-dynamics within the past 4ka recorded in the sediments of Lake Nam Co, central Tibetan Plateau (China). Quaternary Sci Rev 39:73-85

Kastner S, Ohlendorf C, Haberzettl T, Lücke A, Mayr C, Maidana NI, Schäbitz F, Zolitschka B (2010) Southern hemispheric westerlies control the spatial distribution of modern sediments in Laguna PotrokAike, Argentina. J Paleolimnol 44:887-902

Kazancı N, Leroy S, Öncel S, İleri Ö, Toprak Ö, Costa P, Sayılı S, Turgut C, Kibar M (2010) Wind control on the accumulation of heavy metals in sediment of Lake Ulubat, Anatolia, Turkey. J Paleolimnol 43:89-110

Kirby M, Lund S, Patterson W, Anderson M, Bird B, Ivanovici L, Monarrez P, Nielsen S (2010) A Holocene record of pacific decadal oscillation (PDO)-related hydrologic variability in Southern California (Lake Elsinore, CA). J Paleolimnol 44:819-839

Koinig KA, Shotyk W, Lotter AF, Ohlendorf C, Sturm M (2003) 9000 years of geochemical evolution of lithogenic major and trace elements in the sediment of an alpine lake–the role of climate, vegetation, and land-use history. J Paleolimnol 30:307-320

Kulbe T, Anselmetti F, Cantonati M, Sturm M (2005) Environmental history of Lago di Tovel, Trento, Italy, revealed by sediment cores and 3.5 kHz seismic mapping. J Paleolimnol 34:325-337

Kuzucuoğlu C, Dörfler W, Kunesch S, Goupille F (2011) Mid- to late-Holocene climate change in central Turkey: The Tecer Lake record. Holocene 21:173-188

Larsen E,Stalsberg MK (2004) Younger Dryas glaciolacustrinerhythmites and cirque glacier variations at Kråkenes, western Norway: depositional processes and climate. JPaleolimnol 31:49-61.

Lee MK, Lee YI, Lim HS, Lee JI, Choi JH, Yoon HI (2011) Comparison of radiocarbon and OSL dating methods for a Late Quaternary sediment core from Lake Ulaan, Mongolia. J Paleolimnol 45:127-135

Levy LB, Kaufman DS, Werner A (2004) Holocene glacier fluctuations, Waskey Lake, northeasternAhklun Mountains, southwestern Alaska. Holocene 14:185-193

Lie Ø, Dahl SO, Nesje A, Matthews JA, Sandvold S (2004) Holocene fluctuations of a polythermal glacier in high-alpine eastern Jotunheimen, central-southern Norway. Quaternary Sci Rev 23:1925-1945

Liu E, Shen J, Birch GF, Yang X, Wu Y, Xue B (2012) Human-induced change in sedimentary trace metals and phosphorus in Chaohu Lake, China, over the past half-millennium. J Paleolimnol 47:677-691

Long H, Lai Z, Wang N, Li Y (2010) Holocene climate variations from Zhuyeze terminal lake records in East Asian monsoon margin in arid northern China. Quaternary Res 74:46-56

Lutz B, Wiles G, Lowell T, Michaels J (2007) The 8.2-ka abrupt climate change event in Brown's Lake, northeast Ohio. Quaternary Res 67:292-296

MacGregor KR, Riihimaki CA, Myrbo A, Shapley MD, Jankowski K (2011) Geomorphic and climatic change over the past 12,900 yr at Swiftcurrent Lake, Glacier National Park, Montana, USA. Quaternary Res 75:80-90

Manalt F, Beck C, Disnar J-R, Deconinck J-F, Recourt P (2001) Evolution of clay mineral assemblages and organic matter in the late glacial-Holocene sedimentary infill of Lake Annecy,(northwestern Alps): paleoenvironmental implications. J Paleolimnol 25:179-192

Matthews JA, Olaf Dahl S, Nesje A, Berrisford MS, Andersson C (2000) Holocene glacier variations in central Jotunheimen, southern Norway based on distal glaciolacustrine sediment cores. Quaternary Sci Rev 19:1625-1647

Miousse L, Bhiry N, Lavoie M (2003) Isolation and water-level fluctuations of Lake Kachishayoot, Northern Québec, Canada. Quaternary Res 60:149-161

Mischke S, Zhang C, Börner A, Herzschuh U (2010) Lateglacial and Holocene variation in aeolian sediment flux over the northeastern Tibetan Plateau recorded by laminated sediments of a saline meromictic lake. J Quaternary Sci 25:162-177

Munroe JS, Crocker TA, Giesche AM, Rahlson LE, Duran LT, Bigl MF, Laabs BJC (2012) A lacustrine-based Neoglacial record for Glacier National Park, Montana, USA. Quaternary Sci Rev 53:39-54

Munroe JS, Klem CM, Bigl MF(2013) A lacustrine sedimentary record of Holocene periglacial activity from the Uinta Mountains, Utah, U.S.A. Quaternary Res 79:101-109

Nahm W-H, Lee GH, Yang D-Y, Kim J-Y, Kashiwaya K, Yamamoto M, Sakaguchi A (2010) A 60-year record of rainfall from the sediments of Jinheung Pond, Jeongeup, Korea. J Paleolimnol 43:489-498

Nesje A, Bjune AE, Bakke J, Dahl SO, Lie Ø, Birks HJB (2006) Holocene palaeoclimate reconstructions at Vanndalsvatnet, western Norway, with particular reference to the 8200 cal. yr BP event. Holocene 16:717-729

Nowaczk NR, Harwart S, Melles M (2000) A rock magnetic record from Lama Lake, Taymyr Peninsula, northern Central Siberia. J Paleolimnol 23:227-241

Odegaard C, Rea DK, Moore TC (2003) Stratigraphy of the mid-Holocene black bands in Lakes Michigan and Huron: Evidence for possible basin-wide anoxia. J Paleolimnol 29:221-234

Ohlendorf C, Sturm M, Hausmann S (2003) Natural environmental changes and human impact reflected in sediments of a high alpine lake in Switzerland. J Paleolimnol 30:297-306

Paasche Ø, Dahl SO, Løvlie R, Bakke J, Nesje A (2007) Rockglacier activity during the Last Glacial–Interglacial transition and Holocene spring snowmelting. Quaternary Sci Rev 26:793-807

Paasche Ø, Olaf Dahl S, Bakke J, Løvlie R, Nesje A (2007) Cirque glacier activity in arctic Norway during the last deglaciation. Quaternary Res 68:387-399

Pawłowski D, GruszkaB, Gallas H, Petera-Zganiacz J (2013) Changes in the biota and sediments of glacial Lake Koźmin, Poland, during the late Saalian (Illinoian). J Paleolimnol 49:679-696

Pittam NJ, Foster ID, Mighall TM (2009) An integrated lake-catchment approach for determining sediment source changes at Aqualate Mere, Central England. J Paleolimnol 42:215-232

Punning J-M, Boyle JF, Terasmaa J, Vaasma T, Mikomägi A (2007) Changes in lake-sediment structure and composition caused by human impact: repeated studies of Lake Martiska, Estonia. Holocene 17:145-151

Reid M, Sayer C, Kershaw A, Heijnis H (2007) Palaeolimnological evidence for submerged plant loss in a floodplain lake associated with accelerated catchment soil erosion (Murray River, Australia). J Paleolimnol 38:191-208

Roe HM, Patterson RT, Swindles GT (2010) Controls on the contemporary distribution of lake thecamoebians (testate amoebae) within the Greater Toronto Area and their potential as water quality indicators. J Paleolimnol 43:955-975

Rolland N, Larocque I, Francus P, Pienitz R, Laperrière L (2009) Evidence for a warmer period during the 12th and 13th centuries AD from chironomid assemblages in Southampton Island, Nunavut, Canada. Quaternary Res 72:27-37

Rosqvist GC,Schuber P (2003) Millennial-scale climate changes on South Georgia, Southern Ocean. Quaternary Res 59:470-475

Rubensdotter L, Rosqvist G (2009) Influence of geomorphological setting, fluvial-, glaciofluvial- and mass-movement processes on sedimentation in alpine lakes. Holocene 19:665-678

Saunders KM, Hodgson DA, Harrison J,McMinn A (2008) Palaeoecological tools for improving the management of coastal ecosystems: a case study from Lake King (Gippsland Lakes) Australia. J Paleolimnol 40:33-47

Schiefer E, Gilbert R, Hassan MA (2011) A lake sediment-based proxy of floods in the Rocky Mountain Front Ranges, Canada. J Paleolimnol 45:137-149

Schmieder J, Fritz SC, Grimm EC, Jacobs KC, Brown KJ, Swinehart JB, Porter SC (2013) Holocene variability in hydrology, vegetation, fire, and eolian activity in the Nebraska Sand Hills, USA. Holocene 23:515-527

Schwab MJ, Werner P, Dulski P, McGee E, Nowaczyk NR, Bertrand S, Leroy SAG (2009) Palaeolimnology of Lake Sapanca and identification of historic earthquake signals, Northern Anatolian Fault Zone (Turkey). Quaternary Sci Rev 28:991-1005

Shakesby RA, Smith JG, Matthews JA, Winkler S, Dresser PQ, Bakke J, Dahl S-O, Lie Ø, Nesje A (2007) Reconstruction of Holocene glacier history from distal sources: glaciofluvial stream-bank mires and a glaciolacustrine sediment core near SotaSæter, Breheimen, southern Norway. Holocene 17:729-745

Sloss CR, Jones BG, Brooke BP, Heijnis H, Murray-Wallace CV (2011) Contrasting sedimentation rates in Lake Illawarra and St Georges Basin, two large barrier estuaries on the southeast coast of Australia. Journal of Paleolimnology 46:561-577

Spooner I, Douglas MSV, Terrusi L (2002) Multiproxy evidence of an early Holocene (8.2 kyr) climate oscillation in central Nova Scotia, Canada. J Quaternary Sci 17:639-645

Stephens T, Atkin D, Augustinus P, Shane P, Lorrey A, Street-Perrott A, Nilsson A, Snowball I (2012) A late glacial Antarctic climate teleconnection and variable Holocene seasonality at Lake Pupuke, Auckland, New Zealand. J Paleolimnol 48:785-800

Støren EN, Dahl SO, Lie Ø (2008) Separation of late-Holocene episodic paraglacial events and glacier fluctuations in eastern Jotunheimen, central southern Norway.Holocene 18:1179-1191

Teed R, Umbanhower C, Camill P (2009) Multiproxy lake sediment records at the northern and southern boundaries of the Aspen Parkland region of Manitoba, Canada. The Holocene 19:937-948

Teller JT, Yang Z, Boyd M, Buhay WM, McMillan K, Kling HJ, Telka AM (2008) Postglacial sedimentary record and history of West Hawk Lake crater, Manitoba. J Paleolimnol 40:661-688

Tian F, Herzschuh U, Dallmeyer A, Xu Q, Mischke S, Biskaborn BK (2013) Environmental variability in the monsoon–westerlies transition zone during the last 1200 years: lake sediment analyses from central Mongolia and supra–regional synthesis. Quaternary Sci Rev 73:31-47

Tudryn A, Tucholka P, Özgûr N, Gibert E, Elitok O, Kamaci Z, Massault M, Poisson A, Platevoet B (2013) A 2300-year record of environmental change from SW Anatolia, Lake Burdur, Turkey. J Paleolimnol 49:647-662

van Hengstum P, Reinhardt E, Boyce J, Clark C (2007) Changing sedimentation patterns due to historical land-use change in Frenchman’s Bay, Pickering, Canada: evidence from high-resolution textural analysis. J Paleolimnol 37:603-618

vanWelden A, Beck C, Reyss J-L, Bushati S, Koci R, Jouanne F, Mugnier J-L (2008) The last 500 year of sedimentation in Shkodra Lake (Albania/Montenegro): paleoenvironmental evolution and potential for paleoseismicity studies. J Paleolimnol 40:619-633

Vasskog K, Nesje A, Støren EN, Waldmann N, Chapron E, Ariztegui D (2011) A Holocene record of snow-avalanche and flood activity reconstructed from a lacustrine sedimentary sequence in Oldevatnet, western Norway. Holocene 21:597-614

Vasskog K, Paasche Ø, Nesje A, Boyle JF, Birks HJB (2012) A new approach for reconstructing glacier variability based on lake sediments recording input from more than one glacier. Quaternary Res 77:192-204

von Gunten L, Grosjean M,Kamenik C, Fujak M, Urrutia R (2012) Calibrating biogeochemical and physical climate proxies from non-varved lake sediments with meteorological data: methods and case studies. J Paleolimnol 47:583-600

Wagner B, Bennike O, Klug M, Cremer H (2007) First indication of Storegga tsunami deposits from East Greenland. J Quaternary Sci 22:321-325

Wang H, Huo Y, Zeng L, Wu X, Cai Y (2008) A 42-yr soil erosion record inferred from mineral magnetism of reservoir sediments in a small carbonate-rock catchment, Guizhou Plateau, southwest China. J Paleolimnol 40:897-921

Wang J, Zhu L, Nishimura M, Nakamura T, Ju J,Xie M, Takahiro W, Testsuya M (2009) Spatial variability and correlation of environmental proxies during the past 18,000 years among multiple cores from Lake Pumoyum Co, Tibet, China. J Paleolimnol42:303-315

Wohlfarth B, Schwark L, Bennike O, Filimonova L, Tarasov P, Björkmanj L, Brunnberg L, Demidov I, Possnert G (2004) Unstable early-Holocene climatic and environmental conditions in northwestern Russia derived from a multidisciplinary study of a lake-sediment sequence from Pichozero, southeastern Russian Karelia. Holocene 14:732-746

Wolin JA, Stoermer EF (2005) Response of a Lake Michigan coastal lake to anthropogenic catchment disturbance. J Paleolimnol 33:73-94

Xiao J, Chang Z, Fan J, Zhou L, Zhai D, Wen R, Qin X (2012) The link between grain-size components and depositional processes in a modern clastic lake. Sedimentology 59:1050-1062

Xiao J, Chang Z, Si B, Qin X, Itoh S, Lomtatidze Z (2009) Partitioning of the grain-size components of Dali Lake core sediments: evidence for lake-level changes during the Holocene. J Paleolimnol 42:249-260

Xiao J, Chang Z, Wen R, Zhai D, Itoh S, Lomtatidze Z (2009) Holocene weak monsoon intervals indicated by low lake levels at Hulun Lake in the monsoonal margin region of northeastern Inner Mongolia, China. Holocene 19:899-908

Zhong W, Xue J, Zheng Y, Ma Q, Cai Y, Ouyang J, Xu L, Zhou S, Yu X (2010) Variations of monsoonal precipitation over the last 16,000 years in the eastern Nanling Mountains, South China. J Paleolimnol 44:177-188

Zhu L, Wu Y, Wang J, Lin X, Ju J, Xie M, Li M, Mäusbacher R, Schwalb A, Daut G (2008) Environmental changes since 8.4 ka reflected in the lacustrine core sediments from Nam Co, central Tibetan Plateau, China. Holocene 18:831-839

Zhu L, Zhen X, Wang J, Lü H, Xie M, Kitagawa H, Possnert G (2009) A~ 30,000-year record of environmental changes inferred from Lake Chen Co, Southern Tibet. J Paleolimnol 42:343-358