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To reconstruct naturally and anthropogenically induced environmental change in SE Europe since the Little Ice Age, we have examined five partially varved sediment cores from coastal Lake Vouliagmeni, Greece. Our reconstructions are based on a multi-proxy approach including microfacies analysis, X-ray fluorescence core scanning, radionuclide dating (210Pb, 137Cs, and 241Am), and palynological analysis (pollen, spores, and dinoflagellate cysts). A 131 -cm-long composite record that encompasses the past c. 300 years reveals 181 varves of endogenic and mixed clastic-biogenic types. The formation of these varves was controlled by seasonal variability in clastic input and primary productivity. The non-varved intervals consist of homogenous lake sediments and turbidite deposits. Based on a chronology developed through radionuclide dating, varve counting and exclusion of turbidites from the sequence, we have compared our proxy data with meteorological data and historical records of earthquakes and human activities. Our results suggest that the surroundings of Lake Vouliagmeni experienced relatively wet conditions during the late solar Maunder Minimum (1645–1715 AD) and relatively dry conditions during the Dalton Minimum (1790–1830 AD), which highlights the hydroclimatic heterogeneity in SE Europe during the Little Ice Age. The evaluation of historical documentation suggests that the majority of the turbidites is related to lake-slope instabilities following earthquake shocks. Human impact on Lake Vouliagmeni includes (i) a change in aquatic biota following the artificial connection of the lake to the sea at c. 1880 AD, and (ii) expansion of agricultural areas and reduction of natural forests around the lake due to population growth over the past 300 years. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Tephra layers preserved in distal sedimentary archives represent chronicles of explosive volcanism that can complement the often more fragmentary information from near-source volcanic deposits to establish complete volcanic histories. With regard to these aspects, the Middle Pleistocene of the Eastern Mediterranean region stands out as it has a complex and diverse, but as yet largely unexplored record of volcanic eruptions. Here we present the first distal tephra record for the Eastern Mediterranean region spanning from 335 to 235 ka (corresponding to Marine Isotope Stages [MIS] 9 to 7e); our record has been derived from peat cores from the iconic terrestrial climate archive of Tenaghi Philippon (NE Greece). We have identified twenty-seven cryptotephra layers that represent eruptions from diverse Mediterranean sources. Six cryptotephra layers can be linked to Campanian volcanoes, and another six layers are tentatively correlated to Aeolian Arc volcanism. Of the ten cryptotephra layers that we have identified as deriving from the Aegean Arc, eight originate from Santorini volcano and two are tentatively attributed to either Kos or Milos. Five cryptotephra layers have yet unknown origins. Most of the identified cryptotephras represent previously undocumented eruptions. We provide age estimates for all cryptotephras and, by extension, for the underlying eruptions based on orbitally tuned pollen data from the same cores. The only cryptotephra layer in the 335–235 ka record from Tenaghi Philippon that represents a previously known eruption has a palynostratigraphically derived age of c. 289 ka and can be tentatively linked to the Seiano Ignimbrite from the Campanian Volcanic Zone; this represents the first time that this eruption can be traced beyond its proximal area. The documentation and geochemical characterization of tephra layers from different Mediterranean sources in the Tenaghi Philippon peat cores for MIS 9–7e is an important step towards the integration of regional Mediterranean tephrostratigraphic information for the Middle Pleistocene. • 27 cryptotephras found in Tenaghi Philippon cores for the 335–235 ka time interval • Glass geochemistry indicates Italian, Aegean Arc and yet unknown origins. • Identification of the Seiano Ignimbrite from the Campanian Volcanic Zone • Age estimates for yet unknown eruptions derived from orbitally tuned pollen data [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]