Research article

Diatom-based record of past sea-level changes from a lake of Vestfold Hills area, East Antarctica

¹ Birbal Sahni Institute of Palaeosciences, 53 University Road, Lucknow 226007, U.P., India
² National Centre for Polar and Ocean Research, Headland Sada, Vasco-da-Gama, Goa, India
³ Geology Department, Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi 221005, U.P., India

^* Corresponding author: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Received: 5 January 2026
Accepted: 21 May 2026

Abstract

The lacustrine sediment samples from a 47 cm-long core from the shelf area of the Vestfold Hills region, Antarctica, were studied. The core reached an age of 6.48 kyr BP at the bottom. The major objective of this study is to reconstruct the paleoclimatic changes during the Middle to Late Holocene, with special emphasis on the possible incursion of marine water into this inland lake. A very restricted range of 13 diatom species was identified, which provides evidence toward lacustrine environmental conditions, with marine intrusion events and climatic changes in the area. These 13 species are grouped mainly under nine genera: Amphora Ehrenberg ex Kützing, 1844 (1 species); Cocconeis Ehrenberg, 1836 (1 species); Diploneis Ehrenberg ex Cleve, 1894 (2 species); Fragilariopsis Hustedt, 1913 (2 species); Paralia Heiberg, 1863 (1 species); Navicula Bory, 1822 (3 species); Pinnularia Ehrenberg, 1843 (1 species); Thalassiosira Cleve, 1873 (1 species); and Trachyneis P.T.Cleve, 1894 (1 species). The relative percentage of total marine diatoms, as well as the changes in the sedimentation rate, confirmed the marine influence in this lake during the Middle Holocene, which got lessened after ca. 4.5 kyr BP. This is also supported by the CONISS cluster analysis (considering abundance of species as variables), which shows two distinct zones divided around the same time. This can be correlated with the major Antarctic glacial retreat event ending at ca. 4 kyr BP.