Problems with identifying the ‘8200‐year cold event’ in terrestrial records of the Atlantic seaboard: a case study from Dooagh,Achill Island,Ireland

The Northern Hemisphere cooling event 8200 years ago is believed to represent the last known major freshwater pulse into the North Atlantic as a result of the final collapse of the North American Laurentide ice sheet. This pulse of water is generally believed to have occurred independently of orbital variations and provides an analogue for predicted increases in high‐latitude precipitation and ice melt as a result of anthropogenically driven future climate change. The precise timing, duration and magnitude of this event, however, are uncertain, with suggestions that the 100‐yr meltwater cooling formed part of a longer‐term cold period in the early Holocene. Here we undertook a multiproxy, high‐resolution investigation of a peat sequence at Dooagh, Achill Island, on the west coast of Ireland, to determine whether the 8200‐year cold event impacted upon the terrestrial vegetation immediately ‘downwind’ of the proposed changes in the North Atlantic. We find clear evidence for an oscillation in the early Holocene using various measures of pollen, indicating a disruption in the vegetation leading to a grassland‐dominated landscape, most probably driven by changes in precipitation rather than temperature. Radiocarbon dating was extremely problematic, however, with bulk peat samples systematically too young for the North Atlantic event, suggesting significant contamination from downward root penetration. The sustained disruption to vegetation over hundreds of years at Dooagh indicates the landscape was impacted by a long‐term cooling event in the early Holocene, and not the single century length 8200‐year meltwater event proposed in many other records in the North Atlantic region. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The 8k event: cause and consequences of a major Holocene abrupt climate change

A prominent, abrupt climate event about 8200 years ago brought generally cold and dry conditions to broad northern-hemisphere regions especially in wintertime, in response to a very large outburst flood that freshened the North Atlantic. Changes were much larger than typical climate variability before and after the event, with anomalies up to many degrees contributing to major displacement of vegetative patterns. This “8k” event provides a clear case of cause and effect in the paleoclimatic realm, and so offers an excellent opportunity for model testing. The response to North Atlantic freshening has the same general anomaly pattern as observed for older events associated with abrupt climate changes following North Atlantic freshening, and so greatly strengthens the case that those older events also reflect North Atlantic changes. The North Atlantic involvement in the 8k event helps in estimating limits on climate anomalies that might result in the future if warming-caused ice-melt and hydrologic-cycle intensification at high latitudes lead to major changes in North Atlantic circulation. Few model experiments have directly addressed the 8k event, and most studies of proxy records across this event lack the time resolution to fully characterize the anomalies, so much work remains to be done.     

河北省丰宁地区全新世风沙活动及其对古文化的影响

在滦河上游,全新世时期曾有过气候相对湿润阶段,具体表现是:就地起沙的风沙层内,形成了2层特殊的古土壤———黑沙土。黑沙土层分布的厚度不均匀,但具有明显的有机质半固结现象。2层黑沙土之间为黄色风沙层,上层黑沙土又为晚近风沙层覆盖。在下层黑沙土中散布着一些古文化遗存,石片、石核、石斧等石器主要见于下部,陶片数量则以近顶部居多。对黑沙土中的有机质进行14C测年,结果表明,下层黑沙土形成于约7990±150～3200±125aB·P·（cal·）之间,上层黑沙土形成于约3055±170aB·P·（cal·）以后。由这个遗址附近的环境分析证明,古代人类在此活动时期,当地气候处于相对湿润阶段,风沙活动虽依然存在,但可以断定黑沙土的成壤速度大于风沙物质堆积速度,使这里的先民能够依靠农耕、渔猎而生存。大约3200±125aB·P·（cal·）后,风沙堆积速度骤然加快,使黑沙土成土过程一度完全停止,在大约100多年的时间里,风沙活动强烈,形成黑沙土层之间的黄色风沙层堆积。这一时期恶劣的环境使得当时当地的先民无法生存,被迫迁移,从此出现新石器遗址的缺失。该遗址所在的丰宁地区,是影响北京沙尘暴的上源地区之一。因此,该地区环境考古学问题的研究,对了解北京地区沙尘暴变化历史有直接佐证的价值。     

Climate forcing due to the 8200 cal yr BP event observed at Early Neolithic sites in the eastern Mediterranean

We explore the hypothesis that the abrupt drainage of Laurentide lakes and associated rapid switch of the North Atlantic thermohaline circulation 8200 yr ago had a catastrophic influence on Neolithic civilisation in large parts of southeastern Europe, Anatolia, Cyprus, and the Near East. The event at 8200 cal yr BP is observed in a large number of high-resolution climate proxies in the Northern Hemisphere, and in many cases corresponds to markedly cold and arid conditions. We identify the relevant archaeological levels of major Neolithic settlements in Central Anatolia, Cyprus, Greece and Bulgaria, and examine published stratigraphic, architectural, cultural and geoarchaeological studies for these sites. The specific archaeological events and processes we observe at a number of these sites during the study interval 8400–8000 cal yr BP lead us to refine some previously established Neolithisation models. The introduction of farming to South-East Europe occurs in all study regions (Thrace, Macedonia, Thessaly, Bulgaria) near 8200 cal yr BP. We observe major disruptions of Neolithic cultures in the Levant, North Syria, South-East Anatolia, Central Anatolia and Cyprus, at the same time. We conclude that the 8200 cal yr BP aridity event triggered the spread of early farmers, by different routes, out of West Asia and the Near East into Greece and Bulgaria.     

Multiproxy evidence of an early Holocene (8.2 kyr) climate oscillation in central Nova Scotia,Canada

An early Holocene lake sediment record from central Nova Scotia contains a minerogenic oscillation that is closely correlative with the 8.2 kyr event (ca. 8200 cal. yr BP), an event that has not been reported elsewhere in Atlantic Canada. A variety of biological and sedimentological indicators have been examined to characterise autochthonous and allochthonous changes that occurred during this time. The minerogenic upper oscillation (UO, ca. 8400 cal. yr BP) is marked by an increase in the chrysophyte:diatom ratio. Following the oscillation, the diatom community reflects a shift to more productive, less acidic conditions. The pollen record shows no major response to this short‐lived event. Lithostratigraphic analyses indicates that the UO is characterised by an increase in clastic content, magnetic susceptibility and mean sediment grain size, all indicators of changing environmental conditions, most likely the result of regional cooling. The Taylor Lake record adds to a growing body of evidence for a widespread, hemispheric climate oscillation at 8.2 kyr. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

太白山佛爷池剖面的全新世环境变化信息

太白山佛爷池海拔3410m,是一个发育在古冰斗中的冰蚀湖。自湖中210cm沉积剖面进行沉积物粒度、孢粉和测年采样分析,表明自8200aBP以来的环境经历了明显的冷暖干湿变化。8200~6800aBP温暖湿润,在7200aBP出现明显增温;6800~5900aBP气候开始波动,大约在6300aBP有一次短暂的变冷,在6000aBP前后出现明显暖期;5900~4800aBP气温下降,大约在5200aBP达到最低,然后气温缓慢回升;4800~2600aBP气候较为温暖湿润,大约在3000aBP达到最高;2600~900aBP气候变冷湿,大约1500aBP达到最低;900aBP~现代变好。      

The 8.2-ka abrupt climate change event in Brown's Lake, northeast Ohio

Many Northern Hemisphere paleoclimatic records, including ice cores, speleothems, lake sediments, ocean cores and glacier chronologies, indicate an abrupt cooling event about 8200 cal yr BP. A new well-dated series of sediment cores taken from Brown's Lake, a kettle in Northeast Ohio, shows two closely spaced intervals of loess deposition during this time period. The source of loess is uncertain; however, it is likely from an abandoned drainage and former glacial lake basin located to the north of the stagnant ice topography that gave rise to the kettle lake. Strong visual stratigraphy, loss on ignition data and sediment grain size analyses dated with 3 AMS radiocarbon dates place the two intervals of loess deposition between 8950 and 8005 cal yr BP. The possibility of a two-phase abrupt climate change at this time is a finding that has been suggested in other research. This record adds detail to the spatial extent and timing as well as possible structure of the 8.2-ka abrupt climate change event.     

Evidence for an extreme climatic event on Achill Island,Co. Mayo,Ireland around 5200–5100 cal. yr BP

A range of detailed palaeoenvironmental analyses carried out on a series of three peat profiles from Achill Island, Co. Mayo, western Ireland, reveal evidence for an extreme climatic event, probably a storm or series of storms, around 5200–5100 cal. yr BP that caused the deposition of an extensive layer of silt across blanket peat. This event followed a period of relatively dry climate during which Neolithic communities expanded in the region. There was a subsequent period of continuing dry conditions allowing extensive colonisation of the peat by Pinus before a shift to wetter conditions characteristic of the later Holocene. The extreme climatic event is possibly linked to human abandonment of the area comparable to that observed from the work on the internationally significant Céide Fields in the same region. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Post‐glacial vegetation reconstruction and a possible 8200 cal. yr BP event from the low arctic of continental Nunavut,Canada

Climate models suggest that the global warming during the early to mid‐Holocene may have partly resulted from the northward advance of the northern treeline and subsequent reduction of the planetary albedo. We investigated the Holocene vegetation history of low arctic continental Nunavut, Canada, from a radiocarbon‐dated sediment core from TK‐2 Lake, a small‐lake ca. 200 km north of the limit of the forest‐tundra. The pollen and loss‐on‐ignition data indicate the presence of dwarf shrub tundra in the region since the beginning of organic sedimentation at ca. 9000 cal. yr BP with dominance of Betula, especially since 8700 cal. yr BP. At 8100–7900 cal. yr BP the dominance of the shrub tundra was punctuated by a transient decline of Betula and coincident increases of Ericaceae undiff., Vaccinium‐type, and Gramineae. This suggests an abrupt disturbance of the Betula glandulosa population, approximately simultaneously with the sudden 8200 cal. yr BP event in the North Atlantic. However, in the absence of other sites studied in the area, linkage to the 8200 cal. yr BP event remains tentative. The lack of any evidence of forest‐tundra in the region constrains the northern limit of the mid‐Holocene advance of the forest‐tundra boundary in central northern Canada. Consequently, our results show that the climate models imposing a mid‐Holocene advance of the limit of the forest‐tundra to the arctic coast of Canada may have overestimated the positive climatic feedback effects that can result from the replacement of tundra by the boreal forest. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

内蒙古托克托湖相地层时代讨论

采用岩性描述以及OSL和ESR测年方法,研究内蒙古托克托台地郝家窑剖面和郝家窑钻孔的地层时代。研究表明,郝家窑剖面出露地层厚度47.0 m,湖相层顶部的年龄约为距今100 ka,剖面底部的年龄约为距今150 ka。郝家窑钻孔岩性大致分3段:0～12.77 m为棕黄色粉砂质黏土、黏土质粉砂,OSL年龄为距今120～40 ka,应属晚更新世马兰黄土;12.77～72.23 m为淡黄绿、灰褐色粉、细砂层和粉砂质黏土,湖相沉积层,OSL年龄约为距今400～100 ka,属上更新统—下更新统;72.23～118.45 m为棕红色粉砂质黏土层夹钙质层,属受流水影响的风成黄土,ESR年龄为距今476～990 ka,对应于中更新统离石黄土。托克托湖相层的时代与萨拉乌苏河流域经典的萨拉乌苏组(距今75～150 ka)有较大差距,似乎不宜归入萨拉乌苏组,建议暂称为托克托组。     

Pollen-inferred Late-Glacial and Holocene climate in southern Balkans (Lake Maliq)

High-temporal resolution analysis of pollen records from Lake Maliq (Albania) provides quantitative estimates of monthly temperature and precipitation changes since the last deglaciation. The climate parameters were estimated using the best modern analogue technique with an updated modern pollen-climate database composed of 2748 surface samples. The record shows two main cooling phases in the Maliq area (the Oldest and Younger Dryas) and a cooling event around 8200 years, which suggests that the forcing factors driving climate variations in the North Atlantic area since the Last Glacial period also extended their influence into the Mediterranean area. The Oldest and Younger Dryas are also characterized by an arid climate and a change in the seasonality of precipitation: the summer precipitation tends to be greater during the cooling phases than during the temperate periods. The Holocene climate is relatively stable and the values of each parameter reach their modern levels, except for an arid event between 8300 and 8100 cal BP.     

末次冰期间冰阶晚期长江中游风尘堆积及环境意义

定山砂山剖面的下层灰黄色土-淤泥沉积，为末次冰期间冰阶（40～22kaBP）区域降尘堆积。灰黄色土层与淤泥为同源异相沉积，粒度组合基本相同，无特征性差异。频数曲线都以双峰为特征，第一峰为主峰，众值8～32 μm；第二为次峰，众值250～500μm。9.75±0.25Φ~4.25±0.25Φ(1 ~62.5μm)在垂向上具有相似的线形变化，组成第一峰态，各粒级垂向上的含量变化是区域冬季风强弱变化的敏感指标；2.25±0.25Φ ~-0.75±0.25Φ (180~2000 μm)具有相似的线形，组成第二峰态，各粒级剖面含量变化则揭示了冬半年环境干湿状况与局地尘暴事件。在对应区域降尘堆积较弱的两个时段，存在局地尘暴的增强事件，指示局地冬半年环境干燥。     

Evidence for high-frequency late Glacial to mid-Holocene (16,800 to 5500 cal yr B.P.) climate variability from oxygen isotope values of Lough Inchiquin, Ireland

A 7.6-m core recovered from Lough Inchiquin, western Ireland provides evidence for rapid and long-term climate change from the Late Glacial period to the Mid-Holocene. We determined percentage of carbonate, total organic matter, mineralogy, and δ¹⁸O_calcite values to provide the first high-resolution record of climate variability for this period in Ireland. Following deglaciation, rapid climate amelioration preceded large increases in GISP2 δ¹⁸O_ice values by ∼2300 yr. The Oldest Dryas (15,100 to 14,500 cal yr B.P.) Late Glacial event is documented in this record as a decrease in δ¹⁸O_calcite values. Brief warming at ∼12,700 cal yr B.P. was followed by characteristic Younger Dryas cold and dry climate conditions. A rapid increase in δ¹⁸O_calcite values at ∼10,500 cal yr B.P. marked the onset of Boreal warming in western Ireland. The 8200 cal yr B.P. event is represented by a brief cooling in our record. Prior to general warming, a larger and previously undescribed climate anomaly between 7300 and 6700 cal yr B.P. is characterized by low δ¹⁸O_calcite values with high-frequency variability.     

Hydrological changes in the European midlatitudes associated with freshwater outbursts from Lake Agassiz during the Younger Dryas event and the early Holocene

Recent studies of lake-level fluctuations during the last deglaciation in eastern France (Jura Mountains and Pre-Alps) and on the Swiss Plateau show distinct phases of higher water level developing at the beginning and during the latter part of Greenland Stade 1 (i.e., Younger Dryas event) and punctuating the early Holocene period at 11,250-11,050, 10,300-10,000, 9550-9150, 8300-8050, and 7550-7250 cal yr B.P. The phases at 11,250-11,050 and 8300-8050 cal yr B.P. appear to be related to the cool Preboreal Oscillation and the 8200 yr event assumed to be associated with deglaciation events. A comparison of this mid-European lake-level record with the outbursts from proglacial Lake Agassiz in North America suggests that, between 13,000 and 8000 cal yr B.P., phases of positive water balance were the response in west-central Europe to climate cooling episodes, which were induced by perturbation of the thermohaline circulation due to sudden freshwater releases to oceans. This probably was in response to a southward migration of the Atlantic Westerly Jet and its associated cyclonic track. Moreover, it is hypothesized that, during the early Holocene, varying solar activity could have been a crucial factor by amplifying or reducing the possible effects of Lake Agassiz outbursts on the climate.     

Rapid change in early Holocene environments inferred from Lake Pupuke,Auckland City,New Zealand

Sediment cores from Lake Pupuke in Auckland City, New Zealand, contain a high‐resolution millennial to centennial‐scale record of changing climate and catchment hydrology spanning the past ca. 10 000 years. Here, we focus on the period between 9500 ± 25 and 7000 ± 155 cal. yr BP during which grain size, diatom palaeoecology, biogenic silica concentrations, sediment elemental and carbon isotope geochemistry reflect changes in sediment sources and lake conditions, with a significant event commencing at ca. 8240 cal. yr BP, commensurate with a lowering of lake level, faster erosion rates and increased sediment influx with a duration of ca. 360 yrs. However, the changes in the lake are not reflected in the terrestrial vegetation, where the pollen record indicates that podocarp forest dominated the Auckland region, with apparent environmental stability during this part of the early Holocene. The synchronous change in most of the proxies between ca. 8240 and 7880 cal. yr BP at Lake Pupuke indicates the presence of a sustained episode of relatively low lake level and concomitant increased rate of erosion in the early Holocene that appears to be at least partly coeval with the 8200 cal. yr BP meltwater event proposed for the North Atlantic region. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Patterns of human occupation during the early Holocene in the Central Ebro Basin (NE Spain) in response to the 8.2 ka climatic event

The Central Ebro River Basin (NE Spain) is the most northern area of truly semi-arid Mediterranean climate in Europe and prehistoric human occupation there has been strongly influenced by this extreme environmental condition. Modern climate conditions single out this region due to the harsh environment, characterised by the highest absolute summer temperatures of the Ebro River Basin. The Bajo Aragón region (SE Ebro River Basin) was intensively populated during the Early Holocene (9400-8200 cal yr BP) but the settlements were abandoned abruptly at around 8200 cal yr BP. We propose that this “archaeological silence” was caused by the regional impact of the global abrupt 8.2 ka cold event. Available regional paleoclimate archives demonstrate the existence of an aridity crisis then that interrupted the humid Early Holocene. That environmental crisis would have forced hunter-gatherer groups from the Bajo Aragón to migrate to regions with more favourable conditions (i.e. more humid mountainous areas) and only return in the Neolithic. Coherently, archaeological sites persist during this crisis in the nearby Iberian Range (Maestrazgo) and the North Ebro River area (Pre-Pyrenean mountains and along the northwestern Ebro Basin).     

Paleoclimatical significance of the paleosol levels occurring in the Miocene-Pleistocene stratigraphy of the Manonga-Wembere Valley inCentral Tanzania

Micromorphological characteristics of four paleosol levels of the Manonga - Wembere deposits in Central Tanzania indicate periods of wetter climate in the Pliocene than at present. The stratigraphy of the studied section shows a series of lacustrine calcareous clay sediments alternating with gravel, sand and silt. The sediments are believed to have been deposited in the Manonga - Wembere paleolake environment. Paleosols intercalate these sediments and were formed when stable landscapes developed on former lake beds during regression periods. Micromorphological features of the paleosols indicate strong clay illuviation of red to yellow typic clay coating and some Fe-Mn hydoxide hypocoatings in voids and channels. The groundmass consists of either an accumulation of bioturbated yellow to red clay coating fragments or an argillic red to yellow groundmass of clay mass. Such an illuviation and its associated groundmass is comparable to intense clay illuviation fronts that are found in present-day calcareous sediments of warm and wet climates. The paleosol levels therefore represent wetter climatic conditions than today in the area during the Lower Pliocene.     

长江三角洲地区晚第四纪年代地层框架及两次海侵问题的初步探讨*

根据对长江三角洲地区两个以细颗粒沉积为主的晚第四纪钻孔进行OSL测年、U系测年、孢粉分析和微体古生物分析,试图建立高分辨率气候地层,从而建立本区晚第四纪的年代地层框架,并探讨本区晚第四纪的标志层和期间发生的两次海侵及其机制。研究结果显示,两孔记录的古气候波动可与深海氧同位素曲线进行对比：对应于深海氧同位素曲线第6阶段（MIS 6）,堆积厚层的河道相粗颗粒沉积及第3硬土层,反映当时气候寒冷;第5阶段（MIS 5）,为滨海湖沼沉积,沉积物的颗粒显著变细;第4阶段（MIS 4）,本区形成第2硬土层;第3阶段（MIS 3）的早期,本区也发育滨海湖沼沉积,中晚期则形成潟湖—砂坝体系,在滨海平原区普遍发育粉、细砂层;第2阶段（MIS 2）,地层由下粗上细的沉积序列构成,下部为黄灰、棕黄色粉砂,上部则为棕黄色或暗绿色硬粘土。其中MIS 6、MIS 4和MIS 2期间发育的3层硬土层可作为本区晚第四纪沉积的标志层。在MIS 5和MIS 3期间,本区均发生海侵,MIS 5时期由于古地势较高、淡水径流和陆源物质输入丰富,因此海水影响微弱;MIS 3时期的中晚期为缺乏淡水输入的潟湖—砂坝环境,从而形成广泛的海侵层。     

陕西榆林风沙滩区全新世气候和环境变迁

榆林长城沿线处于环境变化敏感带,其风沙滩区沉积剖面的磁化率和粒度分析结果显示,该区全新世早期11500～10000aBP随着全球气候的逐渐转暖,磁化率、黏粒和粉沙含量逐渐增高;全新世中期的10000～45003BP气候相对比较湿润,植被覆盖度增大,风沙活动减弱,地表沉积物当-中粉沙和黏土成分含量显著增大,风化成壤作用增强,地表发育沙质弱古土壤;全新世中期后段的4500～3000aBP期间,气候以比较温和湿润为主,但在4200～4000aBP出现一个气候干旱事件,风沙活动强烈;近3000a以来,气候显著干旱化,波动频繁,地表风沙沉积物显著变粗,表现出有5次沙漠扩张。该区生态环境演化、人文历史变迁基本上是自然因素与人为活动综合作用的结果,以自然演化为主,近代人为因素对环境变化起着加强和放大作用。     

Plant and insect fossils at Norwood in south-central Minnesota: A record of late-glacial succession

The Norwood site in Sibley Co., Minnesota, contains 1.6 m of silt resting on till and overlain by peat. The base of the peat has been radiocarbon dated at 12,400 ± 60 and the top at 11,200 ± 250 yr B.P. The pollen, plant macrofossils, and insect remains in the basal silt consist of boreal species inhabiting open environments, but not tundra. No modern analogue exists for the insect assemblage, which includes elements of boreal forest, tundra-forest, and western affinities. The transition from an unstable open environment to a stable coniferous forest is reflected by both plant and insect fossils and is interpreted as a successional rather than a climatic event. During this time of significant biologic change, the climate is inferred to have been relatively uniform, with temperatures similar to those presently existing in the boreal forest south of the tundra-forest transition zone. The geologic and ecologic succession at Norwood is generally similar to that presently associated with ice stagnation of the Klutlan Glacier in the Yukon Territory. Localized successional sequences similar to those at Norwood are conceived to have occurred repeatedly during the melting of the Laurentide ice, and thus the proposed model has potentially broad application to the interpretation of late-glacial sequences.