Reinvestigation of the classic late‐glacial Bølling Sø sequence,Denmark: chronology,macrofossils, Cladocera and chydorid ephippia

The late‐glacial Bølling period was first identified by Johs. Iversen on the basis of pollen results from Lake Bølling Sø in Denmark. Because there were no radiocarbon dates from the sequence the Bølling Chronozone (12 000–13 000 ¹⁴C yr BP) was later established on the basis of dates from other sites. A new project is reinvestigating the sediments from the Bølling Sø sequence with AMS radiocarbon dating and multiproxy analyses. Here we present results of AMS radiocarbon dating, macrofossil analyses, cladoceran analyses (Cladocera concentrations and chydorid ephippia) and Pediastrum analyses (concentrations). The AMS dates on land plant remains show that the lower part of the sequence is around 12 500 ¹⁴C yr BP, and thus clearly pre‐dates the Allerød chronozone. However, construction of a chronology for the sequence was problematic, partly because of reworking of macroscopic plant remains. The climate ameliorated after glacial conditions to such an extent that growth of plants could begin at ca. 12 500 ¹⁴C yr BP, but the results of multiproxy analyses show little evidence for a further warming period during the pre‐Allerød part of the sequence. Lake productivity was low, and tree birch rare or maybe absent. This may reflect widespread occurrence of dead ice, unstable soils, heavy in‐wash of minerogenic matter to the lake, resulting in turbid water and rapid sedimentation. The early pioneer vegetation was characterised by Salix polaris and Dryas octopetala, and by herbs. The Allerød Chronozone, and especially its initial part, appears to have been relatively warm but reduced cladoceran concentrations and increased proportion of chydorid ephippia suggest that climate cooled in the middle Allerød and that the late Allerød was colder than the early part. The early Younger Dryas was probably colder than the late Younger Dryas. Clear warming is apparent at the beginning of the Holocene, where the first macrofossil evidence of trees (Betula pubescens, Populus tremula) is found. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Calendar year age estimates of Allerød–Younger Dryas sea‐level oscillations at Os,western Norway

A detailed shoreline displacement curve documents the Younger Dryas transgression in western Norway. The relative sea‐level rise was more than 9 m in an area which subsequently experienced an emergence of almost 60 m. The sea‐level curve is based on the stratigraphy of six isolation basins with bedrock thresholds. Effort has been made to establish an accurate chronology using a calendar year time‐scale by ¹⁴C wiggle matching and the use of time synchronic markers (the Vedde Ash Bed and the post‐glacial rise in Betula (birch) pollen). The sea‐level curve demonstrates that the Younger Dryas transgression started close to the Allerød–Younger Dryas transition and that the high stand was reached only 200 yr before the Younger Dryas–Holocene boundary. The sea level remained at the high stand for about 300 yr and 100 yr into Holocene it started to fall rapidly. The peak of the Younger Dryas transgression occurred simultaneously with the maximum extent of the ice‐sheet readvance in the area. Our results support earlier geophysical modelling concluding a causal relationship between the Younger Dryas glacier advance and Younger Dryas transgression in western Norway. We argue that the sea‐level curve indicates that the Younger Dryas glacial advance started in the late Allerød or close to the Allerød–Younger Dryas transition. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Lateglacial and early Holocene summer temperatures in the southern Swiss Alps reconstructed using fossil chironomids

We present a Lateglacial and early Holocene chironomid‐based July air temperature reconstruction from Foppe (1470 m a.s.l.) in the Swiss Southern Alps. Our analysis suggests that chironomid assemblages have responded to major and minor climatic fluctuations during the past 17 000 years, such as the Oldest Dryas, the Younger Dryas and the Bølling/Allerød events in the Lateglacial and the Preboreal Oscillation at the beginning of the Holocene. Quantitative July air temperature estimates were produced by applying a combined Norwegian and Swiss temperature inference model consisting of 274 lakes to the fossil chironomid assemblages. The Foppe record infers average July air temperatures of ca. 9.9 °C during the Oldest Dryas, 12.2 °C during most of the Bølling/Allerød and 11.1 °C for the Younger Dryas. Mean July air temperatures during the Preboreal were 14 °C. Major temperature changes were observed at the Oldest Dryas/Bølling (+2.7 °C), the Allerød/Younger Dryas (?2 °C) and the Younger Dryas/Holocene transitions (+3.9 °C). The temperature reconstruction also shows centennial‐scale coolings of ca. 0.8–1.4 °C, which may be synchronous with the Aegelsee (Greenland Interstadial 1d) and the Preboreal Oscillations. A comparison of our results with other palaeoclimate records suggests noticeable temperature gradients across the Alps during the Lateglacial and early Holocene. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Reconstruction of Late Glacial summer temperatures from chironomid assemblages in Lac Lautrey (Jura,France)

A chironomid–July air temperature inference model based on chironomid assemblages in the surface sediments of 81 Swiss lakes was used to reconstruct Late Glacial July air temperatures at Lac Lautrey (Jura, Eastern France). The transfer‐function was based on weighted averaging–partial least squares (WA‐PLS) regression and featured a leave‐one‐out cross‐validated coefficient of determination (r²) of 0.80, a root mean square error of prediction (RMSEP) of 1.53 ° C, and was applied to a chironomid record consisting of 154 samples covering the Late Glacial period back to the Oldest Dryas. The model reconstructed July air temperatures of 11–12 ° C during the Oldest Dryas, increasing temperatures between 14 and 16.5 ° C during the Bølling, temperatures around 16.5–17.0 ° C for most of the Allerød, temperatures of 14–15 ° C during the Younger Dryas and temperatures of ca. 16.5 ° C during the Preboreal. The Lac Lautrey record features a two‐step July air temperature increase after the Oldest Dryas, with an abrupt temperature increase of ca. 3–3.5 ° C at the Oldest Dryas/Bølling transition followed by a more gradual warming between ca. 14 200 and 13 700 BP. The transfer‐function reconstructs a less rapid cooling at the Allerød/Younger Dryas transition than other published records, possibly an artefact caused by the poor analogue situation during the earliest Younger Dryas, and an abrupt warming at the Younger Dryas/Holocene transition. During the Allerød, two centennial‐scale 1.5–2.0 ° C coolings are apparent in the record. Although chronologically not well constrained, the first of these cold events may be synchronous with the beginning of the Gerzensee Oscillation. The second is inferred just before deposition of the Laachersee tephra at Lac Lautrey and is therefore coeval with the end of the Gerzensee Oscillation. In contrast to the Greenland oxygen isotope records, the Lac Lautrey palaeotemperature reconstruction lacks a clearly defined Greenland Interstadial (GI) event 1d and the decreasing temperature trend during the Bølling/Allerød Interstadial. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Lateglacial environmental and climatic changes at the Maloja Pass,Central Swiss Alps,as recorded by chironomids and pollen

Chironomids and pollen were studied in a radiocarbon-dated sediment sequence obtained from a former lake near the Maloja Pass in the Central Swiss Alps (1865 m a.s.l.) to reconstruct the Lateglacial environment. Pollen assemblages imply a vegetation development around the Maloja Pass from shrub tundra at the beginning of the Allerød to coniferous forest during the early Holocene with a lowering of the timberline during the Younger Dryas. Chironomid assemblages are characterized by several abrupt shifts in dominant taxa through the Lateglacial. The occurrence of taxa able to survive hypoxia in the second part of the Allerød and during the Preboreal, and their disappearance at the onset of the Younger Dryas cold phase suggest summer thermal stratification and unfavourable hypolimnetic oxygen conditions in the palaeo-lake during the warmer periods of the Lateglacial interstadial and early Holocene. Mean July air temperatures were reconstructed using a chironomid-temperature transfer function from the Alpine region. The pattern of reconstructed temperature changes agrees well with the Greenland δ¹⁸O record and other Lateglacial temperature inferences from Central Europe. The inferred July temperatures of ca 10.0 °C during most of the Allerød were slightly lower than modern values (10.8 °C) and increased up to ca 11.7 °C (i.e., above present-day values) at the end of the Allerød. The first part of the Younger Dryas was colder (ca 8.8 °C) than the second part (ca 9.8 °C). During most of the Preboreal, the temperatures persisted within the limits of 13.5–14.5 °C (i.e., ca 3 °C above present-day values). The amplitudes of temperature changes at the Allerød–Younger Dryas–Preboreal transitions were ca 3.5–4.0 °C. The temperature reconstruction also shows three short-lived cooling events of ca 1.5–2.0 °C, which may be attributed to the centennial-scale Greenland Interstadial events GI-1d and GI-1b, and the Preboreal Oscillation.     

A ∼25 ka Indian Ocean monsoon variability record from the Andaman Sea

Recent paleoclimatic work on terrestrial and marine deposits from Asia and the Indian Ocean has indicated abrupt changes in the strength of the Asian monsoon during the last deglaciation. Comparison of marine paleoclimate records that track salinity changes from Asian rivers can help evaluate the coherence of the Indian Ocean monsoon (IOM) with the larger Asian monsoon. Here we present paired Mg/Ca and δ¹⁸O data on the planktic foraminifer Globigerinoides ruber (white) from Andaman Sea core RC12-344 that provide records of sea-surface temperature (SST) and δ¹⁸O of seawater (δ¹⁸O_sw) over the past 25,000 years (ka) before present (BP). Age control is based on nine accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) dates on mixed planktic foraminifera. Mg/Ca-SST data indicate that SST was ∼3 °C cooler during the last glacial maximum (LGM) than the late Holocene. Andaman Sea δ¹⁸O_sw exhibited higher than present values during the Lateglacial interval ca 19–15 ka BP and briefly during the Younger Dryas ca 12 ka BP. Lower than present δ¹⁸O_sw values during the BØlling/AllerØd ca 14.5–12.6 ka BP and during the early Holocene ca 10.8–5.5 ka BP are interpreted to indicate lower salinity, reflect some combination of decreased evaporation–precipitation (E–P) over the Andaman Sea and increased Irrawaddy River outflow. Our results are consistent with the suggestion that IOM intensity was stronger than present during the BØlling/AllerØd and early Holocene, and weaker during the late glaciation, Younger Dryas, and the late Holocene. These findings support the hypothesis that rapid climate change during the last deglaciation and Holocene included substantial hydrologic changes in the IOM system that were coherent with the larger Asian monsoon.     

Deglaciation chronology and glaciomarine successions in the Malangen-Målselv area, northern Norway

The deglaciation history of the Malangen‐Målselv fjord and valley area proximally to the Tromsø‐Lyngen (Younger Dryas) moraine at Bakkejord, Malangen, northern Norway, is reconstructed based on morphostratigraphic, lithostratigraphic and geophysical evidence, and 25 radiocarbon dates from marine shells and foraminifera. The results show that following the Skarpnes event c. 12 200 ¹⁴Cyr BP, and prior to the Younger Dryas readvance, the area was deglaciated at least as far as Sandmo situated 22 km proximally to the Tromsø‐Lyngen moraine. Two moraine ridges crossing the fjord at Sandmo and buried beneath thick glaciomarine sediments are correlated with this period. The area was subsequently deglaciated between 10 300 and 9200 ¹⁴Cyr BP, following the Tromsø‐Lyngen (Younger Dryas) readvance. Five ice‐front accumulations post‐dating the Tromsø‐Lyngen moraine and situated 19, 27, 42, 55 and 77 km behind it are identified and dated based on radiocarbon dates and correlation of marine limits: Målsnes (c. 10 050 ¹⁴Cyr BP), Kjerresnes (c. 10 000 ¹⁴Cyr BP), Solli (c. 9750 ¹⁴Cyr BP), Bardufoss‐Brentmoen‐Storskogmoen (c. 9600–9700 ¹⁴Cyr BP) and Alapmoen (c. 9200 Cyr BP). The largest of these, at Bardufoss‐Storskogmoen, possibly accumulated as a response to an ice advance. Fourteen dates of apparent late Allerød/Younger Dryas age (11 100–10 000 ¹⁴Cyr BP), obtained from fossils in glaciomarine sediments in the Målselv valley up to 77 km proximally to the Tromsø‐Lyngen moraine, are interpreted as postdating rather than predating this moraine. Several of these are considered to be too old because of uncertain reservoir age, carbon‐dating plateaus and/or contamination. This highlights uncertainties associated with radiocarbon‐dating and the profound effect such uncertainties may have on interpreting geological events.     

Palaeoceanographic changes in the northern Barents Sea during the last 16 000 years – new constraints on the last deglaciation of the Svalbard–Barents Sea Ice Sheet

The sediment core NP05‐71GC, retrieved from 360 m water depth south of Kvitøya, northwestern Barents Sea, was investigated for the distribution of benthic and planktic foraminifera, stable isotopes and sedimentological parameters to reconstruct palaeoceanographic changes and the growth and retreat of the Svalbard–Barents Sea Ice Sheet during the last ～16 000 years. The purpose is to gain better insight into the timing and variability of ocean circulation, climatic changes and ice‐sheet behaviour during the deglaciation and the Holocene. The results show that glaciomarine sedimentation commenced c. 16 000 a BP, indicating that the ice sheet had retreated from its maximum position at the shelf edge around Svalbard before that time. A strong subsurface influx of Atlantic‐derived bottom water occurred from 14 600 a BP during the Bølling and Allerød interstadials and lasted until the onset of the Younger Dryas cooling. In the Younger Dryas cold interval, the sea surface was covered by near‐permanent sea ice. The early Holocene, 11 700–11 000 a BP, was influenced by meltwater, followed by a strong inflow of highly saline and chilled Atlantic Water until c. 8600 a BP. From 8600 to 7600 a BP, faunal and isotopic evidence indicates cooling and a weaker flow of the Atlantic Water followed by a stronger influence of Atlantic Water until c. 6000 a BP. Thereafter, the environment generally deteriorated. Our results imply that (i) the deglaciation occurred earlier in this area than previously thought, and (ii) the Younger Dryas ice sheet was smaller than indicated by previous reconstructions.     

Late Glacial fluvial response of the Niers‐Rhine (western Germany) to climate and vegetation change

The Niers valley was part of the Rhine system that came into existence during the maximum Saalian glaciation and was abandoned at the end of the Weichselian. The aim of the study was to explain the Late Pleniglacial and Late Glacial fluvial dynamics and to explore the external forcing factors: climate change, tectonics and sea level. The sedimentary units have been investigated by large‐scale coring transects and detailed cross‐sections over abandoned channels. The temporal fluvial development has been reconstructed by means of geomorphological relationships, pollen analysis and ¹⁴C dating. The Niers‐Rhine experienced a channel pattern change from braided, via a transformational phase, to meandering in the early Late Glacial. This change in fluvial style is explained by climate amelioration at the Late Pleniglacial to Late Glacial transition (at ca. 12.5 k ¹⁴C yr BP) and climate‐related hydrological, lithological and vegetation changes. A delayed fluvial response of ca. 400 ¹⁴C yr (transitional phase) was established. The channel transformations are not related to tectonic effects and sea‐level changes. Successive river systems have similar gradients of ca. 35–40 cm km^?1. A meandering river system dominated the Allerød and Younger Dryas periods. The threshold towards braiding was not crossed during the Younger Dryas, but increased aeolian activity has been observed on the Younger Dryas point bars. The final abandonment of the Niers‐Rhine was dated shortly after the Younger Dryas to Holocene transition. Traces of Laacher See pumice have been found in the Niers valley, indicating that the Niers‐Rhine was still in use during the Younger Dryas. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Stable oxygen isotope and pollen records from eastern Scotland and a consideration of Late-glacial and early Holocene climate change for Europe

The presence of marl deposits belonging to the Lateglacial period in a former lake basin at Lundin Tower in Fife, Scotland has allowed palaeoenvironmental investigations by means of carbonate δ¹³C and δ¹⁸O, and organic matter δ¹³C, in addition to palynology. The variations that emerge reveal strong similarities between the pollen and isotope records and these are interpreted as reflecting climatic shifts. The classic Late-glacial pattern of Oldest Dryas–Bølling–Older Dryas–Allerød–Younger Dryas may be evident and other climatic oscillations are shown to have occurred not only during the Allerød but also in the Preboreal. The problem of the time discordance between isotopic change and pollen representation is addressed through explanations involving lags in plant colonization. A comparison of the δ¹⁸O records from 43 sites across Europe reveals two different regional patterns, which raises fundamental questions over the nature of Late-glacial palaeoclimates.     

Fjord infill in a high-relief area: Rapid deposition influenced by deglaciation dynamics, glacio-isostatic rebound and gravitational activity

Lyså, A., Hjelstuen, B. O. & Larsen, E. 2009: Fjord infill in a high‐relief area: Rapid deposition influenced by deglaciation dynamics, glacio‐isostatic rebound and gravitational activity. Boreas, 10.1111/j.1502‐3885.2009.00117.x. ISSN 0300‐9483. Seismic profiles and gravity cores have been collected from the previously glaciated Nordfjord system on the west coast of Norway. The results give new information about the deglaciation history of the area and contribute to our understanding of fjord fill in high relief areas. During the last deglaciation, up to 360 m of sediments was deposited in the 135 km long fjord system. Shortly after the coastal area became ice‐free, ～12 300 ¹⁴C years BP, the first ice‐marginal deposits were formed, probably due to a minor glacier re‐advance. The greatest volume of sediments in the fjord was deposited during the Allerød ice recession period, the Younger Dryas re‐advance and the succeeding ice retreat period until the ice disappeared from the fjord in early Preboreal. During the Allerød, the fjord was ice‐free and glaciomarine stratified sediments were deposited. The ice margin is suggested to have been located just west of Lake Strynevatnet before the advance during the Younger Dryas. In the late phase of the Younger Dryas, and within the succeeding ～1000 years, the glacio‐isostatic rebound was rapid, and extensive re‐sedimentation took place. Slide activities continued into mid‐Holocene, albeit with less intensity and were followed by normal and calm marine conditions that prevailed until the present. One huge rock avalanche into the fjord took place between 2200 and 1800 ¹⁴C yr BP, probably triggering a tsunami and several slides in the fjord. Even though glacigenic sediments totally dominate in terms of sediment volume, the present study underlines the importance of re‐sedimentation and other gravitational processes in such fjord settings.     

Late glacial and holocene lake level fluctuations in Lake Biel,western Switzerland

Cores and outcrops from the southern shore of Lake Biel were studied to reconstruct the nearshore environment of the lake between ca. 12000 and 5000 yr BP. Core correlations were established by lithostratigraphical and pollen analytical correlations. From the Allerød to the Preboreal time quiet hydrodynamic conditions favoured the deposition of lake marl in the littoral zone and peat on the shore. Between the Preboreal(?) and the Atlantic the littoral zone shows a higher hydrodynamic environment with allochthonous material, whereas peat and clay layers are recorded from the shore. During the Older Atlantic severe erosional episodes caused the erosion of Boreal, Preboreal and Younger Atlantic layers. The previously described long hiatus between the Allerød and the Boreal time can now be connected with these erosional episodes. From Younger Atlantic to Subboreal time the littoral zone displays quiet conditions again with sedimentation of lake marl. On the basis of these results a lake level curve for Lake Biel is proposed: high lake level stands can be traced during the Allerød, Boreal, Older Atlantic and Younger Atlantic biozones; low lake level stands are found during the Allerød, Younger Dryas, Preboreal and Older Atlantic biozones.     

Palaeoecology of a late Allerød peat bed at Godøy,western Norway

A peat bed found under solifluction deposits on Godøya island, western Norway, accumulated during a few decades around 11 000 yr BP, at the end of the Allerød period of the Late Weichselian. Palaeoecological investigations showed a local vegetation succession on wet sand culminating in a mire community dominated by Carex nigra. Periodic flooding brought in sand and silt, which decreased as drainage was impeded sufficiently for standing water to develop. The surrounding terrestrial vegetation was dominated by Salix scrub, with some open heath and alpine habitats nearby. Apart from two aquatic species, the 29 insect taxa recorded are characteristic of alpine heaths, plant litter (under Salix scrub) and stream-sides. Their remains, together with the terrestrial plant macrofossils, were washed into the mire from nearby. Because the fossils are locally derived, the environmental reconstructions are of the actual conditions at Godøy at ca. 11 000 yr BP. Palaeotemperature estimates from beetles and plants are in agreement. The coleopteran estimates (Mutual Climatic Range Method) suggest mean July temperatures of 10–13°C, slightly cooler than today (13.5°), and January temperatures between +1 and ?10°C, similar to or much colder than today. Summer temperature estimates from individual plant taxa indicate that temperatures during the Allerød period were similar to today's, but estimates from the reconstructed vegetation and timber-line positions give estimates up to 3.5° cooler. Temperatures fell 2.5–7.5°C at the Younger Dryas. This abrupt and severe cooling initiated the solifluction processes on Godøya that buried the peat. The Godøy peat bed and its contained fossils provide a rare glimpse of Allerød biota and environments at the local (site) scale.     

Relationships between primary productivity and bottom‐water oxygenation off northwest Africa during the last deglaciation

The upwelling region off northwest Africa is one of the most productive regions in the world ocean. This study details the response of surface‐ and deep‐water environments off Mauritania, northwest Africa, to the rapid climate events of the last deglaciation, especially the Bølling–Allerød (15.5–13.5 ka BP) and Younger Dryas (13.5–11.5 ka BP). A high accumulation rate gravity core GeoB7926‐2, recovered at ～20° N, 18° W, was analysed for the grain size distribution of the terrigenous sediment fraction, the organic carbon content, diatom and benthic foraminifera communities. Humid conditions were observed during the Bølling–Allerød with a high contribution of fluvial sediment input. During the Younger Dryas intensified trade winds caused a larger sediment input of aeolian dust from the Sahara and more intense upwelling with higher primary productivity, as indicated by high diatom concentrations. The abrupt and large increase of organic matter caused low oxygen conditions at the sea floor, reflected by the poor benthic foraminiferal fauna and the dominance of the low‐oxygen‐tolerant foraminiferal species Bulimina exilis. This is surprising since low‐oxygen conditions have not been recorded during modern times at the sea floor in this region, despite present‐day intensive upwelling and high primary productivity. After the Younger Dryas, more humid conditions returned, diatom abundance decreased and B. exilis was replaced by typical deep‐sea species as found in the region today, indicating the return of more oxygenated conditions at the sea floor. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Climatic oscillations in central Italy during the Last Glacial–Holocene transition: the record from Lake Accesa

This paper presents an event stratigraphy based on data documenting the history of vegetation cover, lake‐level changes and fire frequency, as well as volcanic eruptions, over the Last Glacial–early Holocene transition from a terrestrial sediment sequence recovered at Lake Accesa in Tuscany (north‐central Italy). On the basis of an age–depth model inferred from 13 radiocarbon dates and six tephra horizons, the Oldest Dryas–Bølling warming event was dated to ca. 14 560 cal. yr BP and the Younger Dryas event to ca. 12 700–11 650 cal. yr BP. Four sub‐millennial scale cooling phases were recognised from pollen data at ca. 14 300–14 200, 13 900–13 700, 13 400–13 100 and 11 350–11 150 cal. yr BP. The last three may be Mediterranean equivalents to the Older Dryas (GI‐1d), Intra‐Allerød (GI‐1b) and Preboreal Oscillation (PBO) cooling events defined from the GRIP ice‐core and indicate strong climatic linkages between the North Atlantic and Mediterranean areas during the last Termination. The first may correspond to Intra‐Bølling cold oscillations registered by various palaeoclimatic records in the North Atlantic region. The lake‐level record shows that the sub‐millennial scale climatic oscillations which punctuated the last deglaciation were associated in central Italy with different successive patterns of hydrological changes from the Bølling warming to the 8.2 ka cold reversal. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Seasonality in the North Sea during the Allerød and Late Medieval Climate Optimum using bivalve sclerochronology

Seasonal temperature patterns may have changed through time in response to current global warming. However, the temporal resolution of available proxy records is not sufficient to quantify paleotemperature seasonality prior to anthropogenic forcing of the climate. In the present study, we reconstructed seasonal and inter-annual temperature patterns of the North Sea during the last 140 years, the Allerød Interglacial and the Late Medieval Climate Optimum using sclerochronological and δ¹⁸O_aragonite data from bivalve shells, Arctica islandica. On average, the climate during 1278–1353 AD was ca. 1.1°C colder and seasonality was ca. 60% less than today. During the Allerød, long-term temperatures remained about 3.2°C below present values, and absolute summer and winter anomalies were ca. ?4 and ?2.7°C, respectively. However, seasonality was statistically indistinguishable from today. Long-term average temperatures compare well with existing data for the Late Medieval and Allerød, but detailed information on seasonality during the studied time intervals has never been presented before. Our data also demonstrated that annual instrumental and δ¹⁸O_aragonite-derived temperatures did not always match. This difference is explained by (1) NAO-driven salinity changes, which influence the temperature estimation from δ¹⁸O_aragonite and (2) food-driven changes in growth rates; portions of the shell that formed more rapidly are overrepresented in carbonate samples. Our study indicated that individual bivalve shells can open discrete, near-century long, ultra-high-resolution windows into the climate past. Such information can be vital for testing and verifying numerical climate models.     

The Bølling‐age Blomvåg Beds,western Norway: implications for the Older Dryas glacial re‐advance and the age of the deglaciation

Blomvåg, on the western coast of Norway north of Bergen, is a classical site in Norwegian Quaternary science. Foreshore marine sediments, named the Blomvåg Beds and now dated to the Bølling‐Allerød from 14.8 to 13.3 cal. ka BP, contain the richest Lateglacial bone fauna in Norway, numerous mollusc shells, driftwood, and flint that some archaeologists consider as the oldest traces of humans in Norway. The main theme of this paper is that the Blomvåg Beds are overlain by a compact diamicton, named the Ulvøy Diamicton, which was interpreted previously as a basal till deposited during a glacial re‐advance into the ocean during the Older Dryas (c. 14 cal. ka BP). Sediment sections of the Blomvåg Beds and the Ulvøy Diamicton were exposed in ditches in a cemetery that was constructed in 1941–42 and have subsequently not been accessible. A number of radiocarbon and cosmogenic ¹⁰Be exposure ages demonstrate that the diamicton is not likely to be a till because minimum deglaciation ages (14.8–14.5 cal. ka BP) from the vicinity pre‐date the Ulvøy Diamicton. We now consider that sea ice and icebergs formed the Ulvøy Diamicton during the Younger Dryas. The Scandinavian Ice Sheet margin was located on the outermost coastal islands between at least c. 18.5 and 14.8 cal. ka BP; however, no ice‐marginal deposits have been found offshore from this long period. The Older Dryas ice margin in this area was located slightly inside the Younger Dryas margin, whereas farther south it was located slightly beyond the Younger Dryas margin.     

Lateglacial summer temperatures in the Northwest European lowlands: a chironomid record from Hijkermeer,the Netherlands

Lateglacial environments at Hijkermeer, northwest Netherlands, were reconstructed by means of chironomid, diatom and pollen analyses. Diatom assemblages indicate that Hijkermeer was a shallow, oligo- to mesotrophic lake during this period. Pollen assemblages reflect the typical northwest European Lateglacial vegetation development and provide an age assessment for the record from the beginning of the Older Dryas (ca 14 000 calibrated ¹⁴C yr BP) into the early Holocene (to ca 10 700 calibrated ¹⁴C yr BP). The chironomid record is characterized by several abrupt shifts between assemblages typically found in mid-latitude subalpine to alpine lakes and assemblages typical for lowland environments. Based on the chironomid record, July air temperatures were reconstructed using a chironomid-temperature transfer-function from central Europe. Mean July air temperatures of ca 14.0–16.0 °C are inferred before the Older Dryas, of ca 16.0–16.5 °C during most of the Allerød, of ca 13.5–14.0 °C during the Younger Dryas, and of ca 15.5–16.0 °C during the early Holocene. Two centennial-scale decreases in July air temperature were reconstructed during the Lateglacial interstadial which are correlated with Greenland Interstadial events (GI)-1d and -1b. The results suggest that vegetation changes in the Netherlands may have been promoted by the cooler climate during GI-1d, immediately preceding the Older Dryas biozone, and GI-1b. The Hijkermeer chironomid-inferred temperature record shows a similar temperature development as the Greenland ice core oxygen isotope records for most of the Lateglacial and a good agreement with other temperature reconstructions available from the Netherlands. This suggests that chironomid-based temperature reconstruction can be successfully implemented in the Northwest European lowlands and that chironomids may provide a useful alternative to oxygen isotopes for correlating European lake sediment records during the Lateglacial.     

Lateglacial and Early Flandrian Coleoptera from La Taphanel,Massif Central,France: Climatic and Ecological Implications

A Lateglacial and early Holocene sequence of coleopteran assemblages is described from La Taphanel in the Massif Central, France. The site is a sediment-filled small lake at an altitude of almost 1000 m. The insect fauna provides evidence for a detailed palaeoecological reconstruction, and in particular enables a reconstruction of climatic changes at the close of the last glaciation. A sudden climatic warming occurs at about 13000 yr BP followed by a temperate episode equivalent in time to the Bølling period. There is clear evidence of a short cold period between the Bølling and Allerød that is approximately equivalent to the Older Dryas period. The Allerød phase is decidedly cooler than the Bølling, as is shown by the Coleoptera from several sites in northwest Europe. A clear Younger Dryas signal is provided by the Coleoptera, with climates similar in severity to those of the glacial period. The climatic improvement at the start of the Holocene is also sudden, so that by Preboreal times temperatures were equivalent to those of the present day.     

Late glacial and Holocene Ostracoda from the Melilla cold-water coral mound field

The ostracod assemblages from sediment core TTR17-401G recovered from the Melilla cold-water coral mound field in the eastern Alboran Sea spanning the last 13 ka are analysed quantitatively, taxonomically and palaeoecologically. The core can be subdivided in three distinct assemblages linked to environmental shifts during the Younger Dryas and the Bølling–Allerød interstadial. A total of 9 ostracod species is recorded, Paracypris polita is dominant throughout the core. Common accessory taxa Cytherella robusta, Echinocythereis vidua and Macromckenziea ligustica characterize the well-oxygenated ostracod assemblage 2 affected by the Younger Dryas. Favourable growth conditions for ostracods during the latter are indicated by large-sized Krithe praetexta specimens.