A preliminary study on the element strata and palaeoenvironment of core NP95 1 from the Prydz Bay,Antarctica

This paper deals with the characteristics of element geochemistry of the core NP95 1 from the Prydz Bay, Antarctica and its palaeoenvironment implication. The results show that the sediments in this area were greatly affected by dissipation of ice cover, gushing of freshwater and terrigenous materials in the process of deposition, and the elements such as SiO 2,Al 2O 3,Fe 2O 3,CaO, MgO,P,S and C org in sediments have well recorded the changes of material source resulting from palaeoclimate change and the distribution patterns of these elements correspond to the palaeosedimentary environment of ocean and the variations of palaeoclimate. Climatically five periods can be roughly divided,such as warm, cold, hot, turning cold and turning warm since the late pleistocene. The turning points of temperature , which indicate the changes of climate, lie at 145 cm, 85 cm and 25 cm of the core NP95 1, and the sudden change of element content occurs at 85 cm of the core NP95 1, this layer indicating that an abnormal event happened and marking the beginning of Holocene.