Paleoenvironmental history of the West Baray, Angkor (Cambodia)

A sediment core from the West Baray, Angkor's largest reservoir, reveals that its water management system declined significantly during the late 14th and early 15th centuries, coinciding with regional monsoon failures. This period of diminished detrital input and linear sedimentation rates correlates with the collapse of the Angkorian kingdom. The study suggests that shifts in Khmer water management, land use practices, and climate change collectively influenced ecological and sedimentological changes over the last millennium. Researchers analyzed a 2-meter core to infer this 1,000-year paleoenvironmental record, providing insights into the interplay between human activity and environmental factors during Angkor's peak and decline.

Day, M. B., Hodell, D. A., Brenner, M., Chapman, H. J., Curtis, J. H., Kenney, W. F., Kolata, A. L., & Peterson, L. C. (2012). Paleoenvironmental history of the West Baray, Angkor (Cambodia). Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 109(4), 1046–1051. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1111282109