First high-resolution multi-proxy palaeoenvironmental record of the Late Glacial to Early Holocene transition in the Ilia de Arousa (Atlantic margin of NW Iberia)

A 322-cm-long sedimentary sequence obtained in the shallow marine basin of the Ria de Arousa-a submerged unglaciated river valley on the Atlantic margin of northwestern Iberia-was analysed using a multi-proxy approach to study how climatic and sea level changes affected the coastal ecosystems during the Last Glacial-Interglacial Transition. Past sedimentation, vegetation and marine productivities were inferred from palynological, radiocarbon, seismic and lithological data. A substantial reduction in the pollen and dinoflagellate cyst accumulation rates is observed at -12,700 to 11,700 cal a BP, suggesting lower marine and vegetation productivities likely as a response to the Younger Dryas cooling event. Overall, the regional vegetation changed from cold-tolerant open woodlands (Pinus sylvestris/P. nigra and Betula) dominating before similar to 10,200 cal a BP to coastal wetlands and the regional spread of Quercus-dominated forests after-9800 cal a BP. Cluster analysis and principal component analysis allowed the identification of several small environmental oscillations, such as the 11.4 ka and 10.5 ka cooling events. After that, a conspicuous heath expansion was likely favoured by the palaeotopography, the increased precipitation and the relative sea level rise, which might have caused a profound change in the coastal configuration. Concurrently, both the dinoflagellate cyst and non-pollen palynomorph records reveal variations in the marine productivity and coastal hydrodynamics that also agree with a period of marked marine transgression, warming and increasing river flow. New sedimentary data highlight the high sensitivity of the ria's ecosystems to environmental oscillations and show a close temporal correspondence between terrestrial and marine responses to climate change. (C) 2019 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.