Age depth-model for the past 630 ka in Lake Ohrid (Macedonia/Albania) based on cyclostratigraphic analysis of downhole gamma ray data

We report the gamma ray fluctuations from downhole logging data obtained in the sediments of Lake Ohrid from 0 to 240 m below lake floor. These variations in gamma ray and potassium values strongly correlate with fluctuations in global δ18O values and can be thus considered a reliable proxy to depict glacial–interglacial cycles, with high clastic input during cold and/or drier periods and high carbonate precipitation during the warm and/or humid periods in Lake Ohrid. Spectral analysis (sliding window) was applied to investigate the climate signal and their evolution over the length of the borehole. Linking the downhole logging data with orbital cycles was used to estimate sedimentation rates, which shift from 45 cm ka−1 between 0 to 110 m to 30 cm ka−1 from 110 to 240 m below lake floor. The effect of compaction was compensated for. Sedimentation rates increase on average by 14% after decompaction of the sediment layers. Tuning of minima and maxima in gamma ray and potassium values vs. LR04 minima and maxima, in combination with eight independent tephrostratigraphical tie points, allows the establishment of a robust age model for the downhole logging data over the past 630 ka in Lake Ohrid.