Palaeoenvironmental reconstruction of Lago di Albano (Central Italy) during the Late Pleistocene using fossil ostracod assemblages

A fine resolution study on fossil ostracods in late glacial sediments from Lago di Albano was performed within the framework of the European project PALICLAS. Four cores from two coring sites were analysed. At Site 1, located at 70 m depth, cores PALB94 1E and PALB94 1C were collected, while cores PALB94 6A and PALB94 6B were collected at Site 6 at 30 m depth. The autoecology of the ostracod species, cluster analysis, PCA and CA ordination numerical analyses were performed in order to identify changes in environmental conditions within the sedimentary record. Three assemblages were recognized: (a) dominated by C. neglecta representing sublittoral environments, (b) dominated by C. neglecta accompanied by Potamacypris spp. related to spring influx and (c) dominated by Cyclocypris sp. associated with littoral and relatively warmer conditions. A reconstruction of lake water level, oxygen concentration near the bottom and lake productivity, based on ostracod autoecology and supported by fossil pigment data, was accomplished. Sharp fluctuations in water level and productivity seem to indicate climatic oscillations between ca 30 to ca 17 kyr BP.