THE IMPACT OF WEATHER PATTERNS ON HISTORIC AND CONTEMPORARY CATCHMENTSEDIMENT YIELDS

Lake sediment-based estimates of sediment yield have frequently been u sed to reconstruct changing patterns of sediment supply arising from e nvironmental change. Such analyses have often emphasized the importanc e of anthropogenic factors and, in particular, changing land use of ma nagement practices over timescales beyond the scope of direct process monitoring. This paper examines several U.K. sediment yield chronologi es within the context of mesoscale atmospheric circulation patterns. C hanges in the frequency of the winter cyclonic Lamb weather type since 1861 were found to account for a significant proportion of the variat ion in sediment yields. The results also have implications for future sediment accumulation rates given the potential geomorphological conse quences of global climate change. (C) 1997 by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.