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Abstract
The diatom stratigraphy of Holocene sediment cores from an Antarctic lake (S 67° 48′40″, W 67° 18′50″) on Horseshoe Island has been investigated.
The diatom analyses show evidence of a transition from a marine to a brackish to a fresh water environment. The diatom stratigraphy is divided into three different assemblage zones (marine, brackish and fresh water), which are mostly in accordance with the lithostratigraphical units as well as with chemical analyses. The diatom succession in the sediment of “Skua Lake” is not a response to climatic changes. The sediment cores represent a short time scale and the development from a marine to freshwater environment is so dominant that other changes in the diatom flora are hidden. Radiocarbon dates indicate that the isolation of the basin occurred some time after 1860 BP. The possible isostatic uplift resulting from deglaciation of the “Marguerite Bay” Glacier ca 10,000 year BP is discussed.
Systematics and ecology for some of the species in the genera Achnanthes, Cocconeis, Fragilaria sensu lato, Gomphonema, Navicula, Nitzschia and Pleurosigma/Gyrosigma are also discussed.
