Multi proxy analysis for reconstructing the late Holocene evolution of a Mediterranean Coastal Lagoon: Environmental variables within foraminiferal assemblages

Abstract This study reconstructs the evolution of foraminiferal assemblages and the environmental variables (type of substrate, content in calcium carbonate and content in organic matter) in the Valencia lagoon (western Mediterranean) in response to changes in the late Holocene. In this area of low tidal range, several multiproxy analyses were carried out to determine which environmental variables influence the distribution of the fossil assemblage, and its association with global, regional or local climatic phenomena. The statistical results show that in environments with higher exposure to marine conditions, the calcium carbonate content is the dominant factor, whereas in more restricted …