John A. Peck

I take an interdisciplinary approach to the study of sedimentary environments. I primarily use environmental magnetic techniques, geophysical core logging, traditional sedimentological methods and trace metal geochemistry to address questions about natural and anthropogenic change and to date sediment deposits.

In studies of Quaternary paleolimnology and paleoclimatology I have applied environmental magnetic methods to study sediment sequences from Russia, Mongolia and Africa and recently have begun to examine sediment records from Ohio. I have made five trips to Lake Baikal, Russia to study sediment drill cores spanning the last 11 Ma. In addition, I lead three field trips to collect sediment cores from Mongolian lakes. The sediment from Mongolian lakes and their watersheds preserve high-resolution Holocene paleoclimatic records that reveal dramatic changes in moisture supply in central Asia. Recently we obtained sediment cores from Lake Bosumtwi, Ghana. The environmental magnetic record from these cores is providing new insights on West African climate change over the past 23 ka. Students and I have obtained 10 m long sediment cores from Silver Lake, a kettle lake in Ohio. These cores span the last 17 ka and record paleoclimatic change including deglaciation, the Younger Dryas, the 8.2 ka event and additional Holocene environmental change.

Environmental magnetic methods combined with trace metal geochemistry allow anthropogenic impacts on sedimentary environments to be assessed. Research in Ohio has examined the lacustrine record of land use change within the catchment. Students at the University of Akron have examined the relationship between deforestation and changes in lacustrine sedimentation. Others have examined the distribution of pollutants in urbanized Summit Lake.

Quaternary sediments are difficult to date, however accurate age control is required to determine the rates of biogeochemical processes. An additional research interest is the application of traditional (radiometric and paleomagnetic stratigraphy) and new innovative (relative geomagnetic intensity stratigraphy) methods to construct robust age models for sediment deposits.

Mazzeo, P. 2002, Coastal processes and environments along Lake Erie at Bill Staton Community Park, Lake County, Ohio (honors project).

Donkin, A. 2002, Magnetic Testing on Paleo-soils from Ziyaret Tepe, Turkey.

Bates, W. 2002, Sediment Quality in Summit Lake, Summit Co., OH.

Cooper, P. 2001, Rex and North Turkeyfoot Lakes: An analysis of Modern Sedimentation.

Fox, P.A., 2006, A 1 m.a. West African climate change record from Lake Bosumtwi, Ghana, 130 p.

Haney, S.A., 2004, The sedimentary record of anthropogenic impact on Summit Lake, Summit County, Ohio, 170 p.

Green, R.R., 2003, A twenty-three thousand year rock-magnetic record of West African and Sahel rainfall from the varved sediments of Lake Bosumtwi, Ghana., 107 p.

Yifru, D.D., 2002, Post-glacial environmental change as recorded by Silver Lake sediments, Logan County, Ohio: 99 p.