Late-glacial environmental reconstruction at Lough Namackanbeg, Spiddal, Co. Galway, Ireland: pollen and geochemistry

Multiproxy analyses (pollen, geochemistry, whole-core magnetic susceptibility) were carried out on a lake sediment core (pollen spectra from 702-870 cm; 89 spectra; it incl. 10 spectra relating to early Holocene not included in Andrieu et al. 1993) from L. Namackanbeg, a small, now largely infilled lake, 4.6 km north of Spiddal, Connemara. The record spans the Late-glacial and extends into the early Holocene. The local bedrock is granite. Though glaciated in the last glaciation, there is little drift and blanket bog dominates. There is a small semi-natural Atlantic oak woodland in Boliska River valley to the west (Kirby and O'Connell 1982. J Life Sci (RDS) 4: 73-96). History of investigations Cored using a Livingstone corer on 12/05/1990 by Michael O'Connell, Karen Molloy, Aage Paus, Peter Readman, and Sjoerd Bohncke and students from the Free University of Amsterdam in connection with EU-funded Late-glacial project (joint NUIG/FU project) in Ireland. Pollen analysis by Valérie Andrieu in 1991/92. Pollen spectra from 870-722 cm included in profile NMK IIA as published in Andrieu et al. (1993). All available spectra (870-702 cm; i.e. 89 spectra) included in PANGAEA submission (06/2018). Coring in deepest part of basin (in northern part; 25% into the basin from the western side; in same part of basin as NMK I; uncertain of precise location; best estimate for NMK IIA: 53.28524, -9.30071). A platform was used when coring (swampy surface, a Schwingmoor, with Carex rostrata, etc). Basal parts of cores (2 parallel cores) retained, i.e. in the case of NMK IIA: 700-800 cm and 800-880. Detailed notes on stratigraphy available. NMK IIA used for pollen; depths etc here all relate to NMK IIA; NMK IIB - this used for magnetic measurements