Holocene multi-proxy environmental reconstruction of a tundra lake: A case study from Reindeer Lake, Western Spitzbergen

Multi-proxy analyses of two twin sediment cores from the Reindeer Lake were performed to reconstruct the Holocene environmental conditions in this eastern branch of the Bellsund region (Western Spitsbergen). A continuous Holocene lacustrine sediment sequence record was documented, with the dominance of a single algal species, Pediastrum orientale. The basal sediment was AMS 14C-dated between 8.4 and 8.2 ka cal BP. The results of our study, indicate: (1) a very slow sedimentation process during the period of the lake's functioning, (2) low supply of nutrients from the catchment throughout the period from Mid-Holocene to the present, (3) the process of constant physiological adaptation of Pediastrum orientale algae to changing environmental conditions. The inferred climatic history at the Reindeer Lake is compatible with other evidence from Svalbard and elsewhere in the Arctic.