Samenvatting
Lake Butrint (39°47 N, 20°1 E) is a ca. 20 m deep coastal lagoon located in southern Albania, along the Ionian Sea coast, in front of the Greek island of Corfu. Lake Butrinto turned out to be a privileged site for high-resolution study, due to the presence of laminated sediments (Aritzegui et al., 2010).
The multidisciplinary analysis (sedimentology, geochemistry, ostracods, dinocysts, pollen and microcharcoals) of a 12 m long sediment core recovered in the Butrint lagoon (Albania) allows reconstructing the complex environmental changes occurred in the area during the last ca. 4500 years. The chronological framing of the core is supported by seven AMS radiocarbon dates and 137Cs dating. Permanent water stratification has led to the continuous deposition of varved sediments during the last millennia. Sediment and geochemical data as well as selected pollen curves have been published by Morellon et al. (2016). Particular attention was paid to the environmental changes occurred during the Late antiquity and to the relations with historical facts (Morellon et al., 2018).
The tectonically originated Butrint basin was invaded by Ionian Sea during the Holocene marine transgression. In the Mid-Holocene the present lagoon was a large embayment open to the sea. The aggradation of the Pavllo River delta caused progressive isolation of the basin from the sea and the Vivari Channel is the only connection to the Ionian Sea since Roman times. The archaeological site of the ancient city of Buthrotum, populated from Bronze age until the late 18th century AD and located in a peninsula within the lagoon.
The changes we found in the lake’s catchment are a result of the complex interplay of climate variability, anthropogenic forcing and tectonics in a marginal environment. The study of the microfossils (pollen, ostracods, and dinocysts) complements the geochemical data, providing an exceptional record of the air and water environment in a landscape shaped both by climate and land use.
The multidisciplinary analysis (sedimentology, geochemistry, ostracods, dinocysts, pollen and microcharcoals) of a 12 m long sediment core recovered in the Butrint lagoon (Albania) allows reconstructing the complex environmental changes occurred in the area during the last ca. 4500 years. The chronological framing of the core is supported by seven AMS radiocarbon dates and 137Cs dating. Permanent water stratification has led to the continuous deposition of varved sediments during the last millennia. Sediment and geochemical data as well as selected pollen curves have been published by Morellon et al. (2016). Particular attention was paid to the environmental changes occurred during the Late antiquity and to the relations with historical facts (Morellon et al., 2018).
The tectonically originated Butrint basin was invaded by Ionian Sea during the Holocene marine transgression. In the Mid-Holocene the present lagoon was a large embayment open to the sea. The aggradation of the Pavllo River delta caused progressive isolation of the basin from the sea and the Vivari Channel is the only connection to the Ionian Sea since Roman times. The archaeological site of the ancient city of Buthrotum, populated from Bronze age until the late 18th century AD and located in a peninsula within the lagoon.
The changes we found in the lake’s catchment are a result of the complex interplay of climate variability, anthropogenic forcing and tectonics in a marginal environment. The study of the microfossils (pollen, ostracods, and dinocysts) complements the geochemical data, providing an exceptional record of the air and water environment in a landscape shaped both by climate and land use.
| Originele taal-2 | English |
|---|---|
| Status | Unpublished - 2019 |
| Evenement | International Meeting of Sedimentology - University la Sapienza, Rome, Italy Duur: 9 sep 2019 → … |
Conference
| Conference | International Meeting of Sedimentology |
|---|---|
| Land/Regio | Italy |
| Stad | Rome |
| Periode | 9/09/19 → … |