Flood response to rainfall variability during the last 2000 years inferred from the Taravilla Lake record (Central Iberian Range, Spain)

Abstract

A sedimentological, geochemical and palynological study of the Taravilla Lake sequence (Central Iberian Range, NE Spain) provides a detailed record of allochthonous terrigenous layers that intercalate within the lacustrine sediments over the last 2000 years. These terrigenous layers are interpreted as the result of extreme hydrological events that caused higher clastic input to the basin. Anthropogenic influence caused by fires or deforestation is rejected as the main factor generating these layers because human impact, inferred from the pollen reconstruction, was minimal when the terrigenous layers reached their greatest frequency. The reconstructed occurrence of these events in the Taravilla Lake record is coherent with the paleoflood history of the Tagus River, characterized by a notable increase of extreme events at the beginning of the Little Ice Age. The Taravilla record suggests a relationship between the occurrence of extreme hydrological events, solar variability, and the North Atlantic Oscillation for the NE Iberian Peninsula.