Sea level change and environmental evolution of coastal lakes in Vestfold Hills, Antarctica

• Main Authors: Zipan, Wang, Deprez, Patrick, Berkman, Paul A.
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Polar Research Institute of China - PRIC 2001
• Subjects: Antarctic; Vestfold Hills; Vestfold; Advances in Polar Science; Antarc*; Antarctica; Polar Science
• Online Access: http://library.arcticportal.org/2211/; http://library.arcticportal.org/2211/1/A200101001.pdf

Ecological and palaeoecological studies were carried out in the series of lakes in the Vestfold Hills (68°38'S, 78°06'E) on eastern Antarctic continent. Dynamics types of the lakes in environmental geomorphology and physic-chemistry, as well as features of biological community structures in different lakes were analyzed. Marine macro and micro fossils collected from the terraces and beaches surrounding these lakes and determined in (14)C radiocarbon ages to be the Late Pleistocene, were used as evidences to show the evolutionary processes of the lakes after sea level changes and transgressions since 18000 a B. P. Basic modals of evolution for the lakes given in the paper could be regarded as not only explaining the history of environmental and ecological changes in VH lakes, and also reflecting of local environmental evolution in Antarctic region and global climate changes from past to present time.