Abstract
A fine-resolution analysis of pollen, charcoal, magnetic susceptibility, sediment fractions and total carotenoids was used to investigate the last 2000 years of environmental history at Lake Keilambete, in western Victoria, Australia. The chronology of sedimentation was based on three radiocarbon dates, supplemented by inferences from 22 previous radiocarbon ages from the site, spanning approximately the last 7500 years. Changes in the analysed parameters infer a relatively higher effective moisture from approximately 2000 to 1800 cal. BP. Increased instability in the Lake Keilambete catchment from 1750 to 1425 cal. BP may reflect a decreased moisture availability and cooler temperatures. At about 1450 cal. BP a period of considerable environmental change is suggested at Lake Keilambete. Warmer temperatures or an increased moisture supply seem likely between 1415 and 1320 cal BP. From around c. 1150 until 800 cal. BP, overlapping the 'Medieval Warm Period', a series of changes in the composition of the Lake Keilambete sediment suggests temperature variability. Changes in some vegetation indices and in charcoal may provide evidence for the 'Little Ice Age', but this evidence is not conclusive.
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