A WEIGHTED-AVERAGING REGRESSION AND CALIBRATION MODEL FOR INFERRING LAKEWATER SALINITY FROM FOSSIL DIATOM ASSEMBLAGES IN SALINE LAKES OF THE VESTFOLD HILLS - A NEW TOOL FOR INTERPRETING HOLOCENE LAKE HISTORIESIN ANTARCTICA

The relationship between surface sediment diatom assemblages and measu red limnological variables in thirty-three coastal Antarctic lakes fro m the Vestfold Hills was examined by constructing a diatom-water chemi stry dataset. Previous analysis of this dataset by canonical correspon dence analysis revealed that salinity accounted for a significant amou nt of the variation in the distribution of the diatom assemblages. Wei ghted-averaging regression and calibration of this diatom-salinity rel ationship was used to establish a transfer function for the reconstruc tion of past lakewater salinity from fossil diatom assemblages. Weight ed-averaging regression and calibration with classical deshrinking pro vided the best model for salinity reconstructions and this was applied to the fossil diatom assemblages from one of the saline lakes in the Vestfold Hills in order to assess its potential for palaeosalinity and palaeoclimate reconstruction.