Quaternary Science Reviews 18 (1999) 611—630 Chronology and stratigraphy of Late Quaternary sediments in the Konya Basin, Turkey: Results from the KOPAL Project N. Roberts,* S. Black, P. Boyer, W.J. Eastwood, H.I. Griffiths, H.F. Lamb, M.J. Leng, R. Parish, J.M. Reed, D. Twigg, H. Yig \ itbas ’ iog \ lu Department of Geography, Loughborough University, UK Institute of Environmental Sciences, Lancaster University, UK School of Geography, University of Birmingham, UK Department of Geography, University of Hull, UK Institute of Geography and Earth Sciences, University of Wales, Aberystwyth, Wales, UK NERC Isotope Geosciences Laboratory, British Geological Survey, Keyworth, UK Department of Geography, University of StAndrews, UK Department of Civil and Building Engineering, Loughborough University, UK Department of Geography, Ankara University, Turkey Abstract The Late Quaternary environmental history of the Konya plain, in south central Turkey, is used to examine sediment facies changes in a shallow non-outlet basin which has experienced major climatically driven changes in lake extent. Two principal types of sedimentary archive are used to reconstruct a palaeoenvironmental record, namely alluvial sequences on the hars ’ amba alluvial fan and sediments from residual lakes. The latter have been used to investigate broader climatic and vegetational histories via palaeolimnological techniques including pollen, diatom and stable isotope analysis. These changes are dated here by radiometric techniques including radiocarbon (AMS and conventional), OSL, and U—Th. Chronological agreement is generally good between the different dating techniques, although typically there is greatly reduced precision beyond ca. 25 ka. Lake sediment cores investigated have basal ages beyond the range of C dating, but contain hiatuses as a result of subsequent alternation between phases of lacustrine sedimentation and aeolian deflation. In contrast to most deepwater non-outlet lake systems, the Konya basin may have been occupied by a single extensive lake for as little as 10% of Late Quaternary time, mainly around the time of the LGM. This lake highstand was followed by an important arid interval. In the absence of unbroken chronostratigraphic sequences, palaeohydrological investigation of shallow non-outlet lakes may require analysis of basin-wide changes in sedimentation rather than reliance on single core records. Stratigraphic continuity in such sedimentary environments cannot be assumed, and requires independent chronological control through radiometric dating.  1999 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved. 1. Introduction Non-outlet lake basins contain important sedimentary archives which permit the reconstruction of Late Quater- nary palaeohydrological and palaeoclimatic variations in * Corresponding author. Current address: Department of Geo- graphical Sciences, University of Plymouth, Plymouth, Devon, PL4 8AA UK. Tel.: 0044 1752 233065; fax: 0044 1752 233054; E-mail address: c.n.roberts@plymouth.ac.uk. Current address: Postgraduate Institute for Sedimentology, Univer- sity of Reading, UK Current address: Department of Geography, University of New- castle, U.K. dryland regions of the world (Street-Perrott and Har- rison, 1985). The water balance of hydrologically open systems is regulated mainly through changes in surface outflow discharge. By contrast, lakes lacking an outlet respond to shifts in incoming precipitation, runoff and groundwater by adjustment of surface area and hence water level. High level ‘pluvial’ lakes of Late Pleistocene age are recorded in many extra-tropical sedimentary basins, such as the Dead Sea in the Jordan Rift, along with its precursor Lake Lisan (Begin et al., 1974), and Lakes Bonneville and Lahontan in the Southwest USA (Benson et al., 1990; Currey, 1990). There is often uncer- tainty, however, concerning the precise climatic controls 0277-3791/99/$ — see front matter 1999 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved. PII: S 0 2 7 7 - 3 7 9 1 ( 9 8 ) 0 0 1 0 0 - 0