Mineral magnetic record of Holocene environmental changes in Sägistalsee, Switzerland

The Holocene magnetic signature due to environmental change has been investigated in sediments from Sägistalsee, a small alpine lake in the Bernese Alps, Switzerland. The environmental signal in the mineral magnetic parameters of the sediments was compared with palynological and geochemical data. The types of magnetic minerals and their grain size reflect changes in the lake catchment, vegetation, and degree of erosional input. The concentration of the magnetic minerals, as expressed by isothermal and anhysteretic remanent magnetizations also reflect changes in vegetation, but may also be related to redox conditions during sedimentation. Climate influence on the mineral magnetic record has been recognized and interpreted as a consequence of the production of an authigenic mineral with particularly uniform magnetic properties during warmer stages and the influx of heterogeneous detrital mag- netic mineral during cooler stages and under increased human activity.