Holocene climatic variability and evolution of human settlement in the Aral Sea Basin

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Climatic fluctuations in this arid/semi-arid area will be documented for the past 10-15 ka. The study will be pased on a balanced high resolution data set consisting of biotic and abiotic parameters or proxies (detailed lithology, magnetic susceptibility, diatoms, ostracods, molluscs, pollen, grain size distribution, major and minor elements, mineralogy, stable isotops) from continous sediment cores. The proxies will be used to trace hydrological changes in the water column as responses to changing water supply to the Aral Sea. The age model for sediment cores will be built on paleomagnetic rock magnetic measurements which will be related to well dated changes of the geomagnetic field during the past. Recent sediments deposited within the last 150 years will be accurately dated using the technique of 210-Pb. Further carbon-14 AMS dating on carbonaceous fossils like ostracods and molluscs will be used. Core locations will be selected based on results of a preceding seismic survey. Geomorphologic fieldwork in the W, SE and NE Aral Basin will provide information on position of the shoreline, terraces and soil horizons in the past. Archeological prospecting will shed lights on settlement patterns and structures. Remote sensing at different spatial resolution will support geomorphologic and archeological fieldwork. Conventional C-14 will be used for dating terraces, old shorelines and archeological sites.