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. Full details about this dataset can be found at https://doi.org/10.5285/87dec506-ca7f-4b57-a605-486ec9d8cca2

Measurements of sediment properties (including 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 some water bodies multiple core datasets exist. Full details about this dataset can be found at https://doi.org/10.5285/4b4a2388-fea2-48e8-8d61-4b93ada479bb

The data set contains grain size distributions, organic matter (OM) contents and trace metals distribution metal distribution (Fe, Zn, Cu, Cr and Pb) of seven (7) shallow cores of sediments from the Notwane Dam (southern Botswana). The cores have been collected with a push corer using PVC pipes of 5 cm diameter by a team from BIUST led by Dr. Franchi between November 2017 and February 2018. The data were collected as part of the PULA project, which aimed at understanding the immediate effect of heavy rainfall and floods on water resources in arid Botswana and their transitional hydrologic readjustment towards the dry period, and the role of these events in supporting either or both resources replenishment and contamination. Grain size profiles of the cores have been obtained by analyzing wet sediments with a laser diffraction particle size analyzer. The OM content of the sediments was obtained by measuring the loss on ignition (LOI) of bulk sediments after calcination in a muffle furnace. The sediments have been analyzed for trace metal distribution using a Microwave Plasma-Atomic Emission Spectrometer (MP-AES). The grain size distribution has allowed to pinpoint the presence of flood couplets, characterized by coarse lags followed by fine grained materials. The trace metal distribution profiles have been compared with the flood couplets to assess the entity of metal mobilization during floods and subsequent droughts. Full details about this dataset can be found at https://doi.org/10.5285/022b3fff-55d7-46f5-b11f-2f7366e508b0