Multi-proxy study of the Reindeer Lake evolution (Reinodden Point, Spitsbergen) and its importance for the reconstruction of the Holocene environmental changes in polar regions

Multi-proxy analyses of two twin sediment cores from Reindeer Lake were performed to reconstruct Holocene environmental conditions in this eastern branch of Bellsund region (Western Spitsbergen). The basal sediment was AMS-dated to 8.4-8.2 ka cal BP. The low thickness of the sediments in the profile, with a good correlation of dates with their depth in the age-depth model, and the homogeneity of algae gyttja with the dominance of one species, Pediastrum orientale , indicate: (1) 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 Reindeer Lake is compatible with other evidence from Svalbard and elsewhere in the Arctic.