Abstract :
, , A 100 cm long sediment sequence was recovered from Beaver Lake in Amery Oasis, East
Antarctica, using gravity and piston corers. Sedimentological and mineralogical analyses and the absence of
micro and macrofossils indicate that the sediments at the base of the sequence formed under glacial
conditions, probably prior to c. 12 500 cal. yr BP. The sediments between c. 81 and 31 cm depth probably
formed under subaerial conditions, indicating that isostatic uplift since deglaciation has been substantially
less than eustatic sea-level rise and that large areas of the present-day floor of Beaver Lake must have been
subaerially exposed following deglaciation. The upper 31 cm of the sediment sequence were deposited under
glaciomarine conditions similar to those of today, supporting geomorphic observations that the Holocene
was a period of relative sea-level highstand in Amery Oasis.
