210Pb-dated historical lake sediment metal concentrations from The Lake District, England (mid-19th century to 2016)

Measurements of sediment properties (incl. organic and carbonate content), radionuclides (210Pb, 137Cs, 241Am) and elements (including mercury, nickel, copper, zinc, and lead) in lake sediment successions. Radionuclide dating provides a reliable chronology of sediment ages from the mid-19th century (sometimes only 20th century) to the present (2016). The dataset comprises a standardised matrix of multiple measured sediment variables (element values per mass) against stratigraphic depth for 8 lakes. In these water bodies multiple core datasets exist, one collected from the littoral zone, one of intermediate depth and one from the deepest area. The deepest core was used for 210Pb dating. The intermediate and littoral depth cores are not dated, except at Esthwaite where the littoral core (29328_ESTH_LITT.csv) had been previously collected, 210Pb dated and measured for organic and carbonate content.

Sediment cores were collected by boat and coring equipment in 2016. Cores were subsampled (sliced) on-site and processed on return to laboratory. Multiple samples from separate core depth intervals were measured. Samples of sediment intervals were measured for water content, organic content and carbonate content by heating and combustion (loss-on-ignition). Concentrations of elements were measured on freeze-dried, milled samples of sediment by X-Ray Fluorescence (XRF) spectroscopy using an Energy dispersive XRF (Bruker Ltd) with standard reference sediments prepared and run with the core samples. 210Pb dating and other radionuclides were measured on subsamples from core intervals by gamma spectroscopy at the UCL Environmental Radiometric Facility. Mercury (total) was measured on subsamples by cold-vapour fluorescence spectroscopy (CV-AFS). Sediment core element concentrations measured by XRF and CV-AFS were measured in machines with laboratory blanks and standard reference sediment samples.