Research will test the hypothesis that climatic change in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan has produced changes in aquatic environments as it has caused range expansions of mesic tree species. Cooling climate should reduce evapotranspiration causing lake levels to rise and major ion concentrations of lake water to decline. Bogs and fens should also expand under the cooler, wetter climate of the late Holocene. Past lake levels will be determined at Sylvania Wilderness and Recreation Area, Michigan, using multiple, dated sediment cores from the shallow waters of a lake. Ages of bog development will be determined using radiocarbon dating of peat cores. Past lake water chemistry will be determined using diatom microfossils from the sediment cores %%% The results of this study should shed light on the impacts of climatic change on aquatic environments and provide an independent record of climatic change to compare with the terrestrial vegetation.
