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Climatic and non-climatic lake-level changes inferred from a Plio-Pleistocene lacustrine complex of Catalonia (Spain): palynology of the Tres Pins sequences

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Abstract

A 27-m sequence of deposits from the Plio-Pleistocene Banyoles-Besalú lacustrine complex, at Tres Pins, N.-E. Spain, shows lithological, carbonate, pollen and spores, and ostracode-gastropod evidence of climatic and lake-level change. Upland pollen taxa from the lowermost zones 1, 3 and 5, show that the area was forested and indicate a progressive deterioration of the climate. Zone 2 (steppe vegetation) corresponds to a global glacial stage, with mild temperatures, if the comparison to modern analogues is valid. Only minor climate fluctuations occurred subsequently. Aquatic vegetation and micritic sediment facies show a pelagic environment during pollen zones 1 and 3 and a littoral one during pollen zone 5. A short-term lowering of the water level (sandy algal micrite and slightly brackish waters) occurred in zone 2, as a result of severe droughts. Subzone 2c records progressive recovery of the forest. The coarse lithology and the high carbonate content, however, continue to indicate shallow waters. The fluctuation marked by zone 4 (extensive marsh vegetation and spring waters) may be due to a lake-level decrease caused by karst activity, or by lower precipitation with only slight cooling, or more probably by a relative lake-level decrease caused by natural infilling. The sediment of pollen zone 4, a sandy algal micrite, indicates the development of a littoral bench at the core site. From pollen zone 4 to pollen zone 5 an evolution from lakeward to landward position occurred. In zone 2, droughts existed at least during the spring growing season, and probably also during the rest of the year. In subzone 2c, a shift to spring precipitation occurred. In contrast, during pollen zone 4, if there was a decrease in precipitation, it did not take place during the summer growing season.

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  1. Centre of Palaeoecology, Queen's University of Belfast, Belfast, BT7 1NN, N. Ireland, UK

    S. A. G. Leroy

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Leroy, S.A.G. Climatic and non-climatic lake-level changes inferred from a Plio-Pleistocene lacustrine complex of Catalonia (Spain): palynology of the Tres Pins sequences. Journal of Paleolimnology 17, 347–367 (1997). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1007929213952

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