Mid-Infrared Spectroscopy as a Potential Tool for Reconstructing Lake Salinity

摘要: Many aquatic ecosystems in Australia are impacted or threatened by salinisation; however, there is a paucity of records detailing the changes salinity individual water bodies that extend beyond few decades. One way to overcome this issue use inference models, which have typically been based on biological proxies. This pilot project investigates potential for mid-infrared spectroscopy (MIRS) provide an alternative method reconstructing past levels Australian lakes. A small (19 lakes) calibration dataset was used develop MIRS-based lake model (measured vs. inferred salinity, leave-one-out cross-validation, R2 = 0.64). and previously published diatom–salinity were both infer Tower Hill Lake south-eastern Australia, over last 60 years. Comparisons between these reconstructions measured data from indicate salinities MIRS more closely resembled values than those produced using diatom model, predominantly terms actual inferred, but also with regard trends observed. supports hypothesis can valuable new tool salinity.