Late Quaternary environmental history of Rauer Group, East Antarctica [Elektronische Ressource] / vorgelegt von Sonja Berg

Late Quaternary environmental history of Rauer Group, East Antarctica Inaugural-Dissertation zur Erlangung des Doktorgrades der Mathematisch-Naturwissenschaftlichen Fakultät der Universität zu Köln vorgelegt von Sonja Berg aus Erkelenz Köln 2010 Berichterstatter: Prof. Dr. Martin Melles (Gutachter) PD Dr. Bernd Wagner Prof. Dr. Damian Gore Tag der mündlichen Prüfung: 30.06.2010 ___________________________________________________________________________ Abstract In East Antarctica, small ice-free coastal areas are unique environments, located between the East Antarctic Ice Sheet (EAIS) and its outlet glacier systems on the one hand and the Southern Ocean on the other. Rauer Group is an ice-free archipelago in eastern Prydz Bay, which has been visited in March 2007. Geomorphological studies have been conducted there in order to shed light on the glacial history of the area. The recovery of long sediment cores from three marine inlets and one lake provided the possibility to reconstruct the late Pleistocene and Holocene environmental and climate history of the area for the first time. Since knowledge on climate and glacial history around East Antarctica is relatively sparse, this study contributes significantly to a broader understanding of the late Quaternary evolution of the region.