The impact of summer temperature changes on vegetation development in Ireland during the Weichselian Lateglacial Interstadial

We analysed pollen from a sediment core from Fiddaun, a small Lateglacial lake basin in western Ireland. Results reflect the general Lateglacial vegetation development in Ireland, as reconstructed from other pollen records. The Fiddaun diagram shows a number of short‐lived regressive vegetation phases during the Interstadial. The close similarity between two pollen records from the same region (Fiddaun and Lurga) indicates that these fluctuations probably reflect regional rather than local changes. Comparison with a previously published climate reconstruction, based on a chironomid‐inferred mean July air temperature reconstruction, lithology, and oxygen and carbon isotopes of lake marl from the Fiddaun record, allowed us to establish the relationship between summer temperature and vegetation changes. Results reveal that two temporary regressive shifts in the pollen record correspond to cold oscillations, which have been correlated to Greenland Interstadial 1b and 1d. It seems that the first cold oscillation (GI‐1d) had the most distinct effect on vegetation in Ireland. In contrast, it appears that the transition from Juniperus shrubland and Empetrum heath to grassland, which is estimated at ～13.7 ka BP, was not caused by decreasing summer temperatures, as no substantial change is observed in the climate proxies. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Vegetation patterns, recent pollen deposition and distribution of non-pollen palynomorphs in a polygon mire near Chokurdakh (NE Yakutia, NE Siberia)

Fine-scaled distribution patterns of vegetation and palynomorphs in a polygon mire in NE Siberia were studied in 31 × 31 plots of 1 m² (vegetation) and along a transect at intervals of 1 m (palynomorphs). Pollen and non-pollen-palynomorph contents clearly reflect differences between polygon ridges and centres. For most single pollen types, however, no unambiguous relation with actual plant abundances and distribution exists. High pollen values are restricted to the immediate vicinity of the pollen sources, which is attributed to the low height of the vegetation. For several plant taxa, high pollen values were found to be restricted to particular plant specimens in the population. High values of pollen ascribed to taxa currently absent at the relevant plot show that the sampled mosses contain a pollen signal of several years. Betula exilis produces two morphologically clearly distinct pollen types. The distribution of selected non-pollen palynomorphs correlates to microrelief, moisture regime and/or trophic conditions. The study shows that single palaeo-sections from arctic peatlands should not be over-interpreted with respect to their palaeoecological value. Local vegetation types and site conditions, however, can be accurately reconstructed from the total assemblages and from combined occurrences of specific palynomorph types.     

格陵兰海海冰外缘线变化特征分析

格陵兰海作为北冰洋的边缘海之一,容纳了北极输出的海冰,其海冰外缘线的变化既受北极海冰输出量的影响,也受局地海冰融化和冻结过程的影响。利用2003年1月到2011年6月AMSR-E卫星亮温数据反演的海冰密集度产品,对格陵兰海海冰外缘线的变化特征进行了分析。结果表明,格陵兰海海冰外缘线不仅存在一年的变化周期,还存在比较显著的半年变化周期,与海冰在春秋两季向岸收缩有关。格陵兰海冬季的海冰外缘线极大值呈逐年下降的趋势,体现了北极增暖导致的冬季海冰范围减小;而夏季海冰外缘线离岸距离的极小值呈上升趋势,表明夏季来自北冰洋的海冰输出量增大。2003—2004年是格陵兰海夏季海冰融化最严重的2年。2007年北冰洋夏季海冰覆盖范围达到历史最小;而格陵兰海夏季的最小海冰范围最大,表明2007年北冰洋海冰的输出量大于其他年份。此外,夏季格陵兰岛冰雪融化形成的地表径流对海冰外缘线有一定的影响。对海冰外缘线影响最大的不是格陵兰海的局地风场,而是弗拉姆海峡(Fram Strait)区域的经向风,它直接驱动了北冰洋海冰向格陵兰海的输运,进而对格陵兰海海冰外缘线的分布产生滞后的影响。     

Late Weichselian pollen stratigraphy, clay varve chronology and palaeomagnetic secular variations in Lake Bolmen, Småland, south Sweden

Pollen analysis, glacial varve chronology and palaeomagnetic measurements were carried out on Late Weichselian lake sediments from southwestern Smaland, south Sweden. The sequence is correlated to the GRIP event stratigraphy, expressed in calendar years BP, and covers the period from the deglaciation at c. 14 400 to 11 300 calendar years BP. The series encompasses c. 930 varves and has been connected to the local varve chronology. Varve thickness increases markedly after the Older Dryas stadial, which indicates an accelerated deglaciation and melting of dead ice. The pollen diagram displays the vegetation development from the deglaciation at c. 14 400 calendar years BP to the transition to the Holocene. The vegetation succession starts with an arctic pioneer vegetation at the deglaciation, changes to a more stable tundra environment and displays a development which concurs with the traditional lateglacial pollen stratigraphy for southern Sweden. A palaeo-magnetic secular variation curve is presented displaying two westerly declination swings at 14200-13800 and 12 800-11 600 calendar years BP, respectively. The upper one can be recognized from other palaeomagnetic stratigraphies from southern Sweden and Estonia.     

Chironomids as indicators of the Holocene climatic and environmental history of two lakes in Northeast Greenland

Schmidt, S., Wagner, B., Heiri, O., Klug, M., Bennike, O. & Melles, M. 2010: Chironomids as indicators of the Holocene climatic and environmental history of two lakes in Northeast Greenland. Boreas, 10.1111/j.1502‐3885.2010.00173.x. ISSN 0300‐9483. Two Holocene sediment sequences from arctic lakes on Store Koldewey, an island in Northeast Greenland, were investigated for fossil chironomid assemblages. A total of 18 and 21 chironomid taxa were identified in 290‐ and 252‐cm‐long sediment sequences from Duck Lake and Hjort Lake, respectively. The chironomid assemblages were very similar in the two lakes. Canonical correspondence analysis (CCA) was used to compare fossil chironomid assemblages from Store Koldewey with chironomid assemblages and environmental conditions presently found in Canadian Arctic lakes and, hence, to infer environmental changes for Northeast Greenland. The first chironomids appeared at c. 9500 cal. a BP in Hjort Lake, and 500 years later in Duck Lake. Taxa typical for cold and nutrient‐poor arctic lakes dominated the earliest assemblages. Chironomid assemblages with taxa typical of higher summer air temperatures and lakes with higher nutrient availability occur between 8000 and 5000 cal. a BP. This period probably marks the regional Holocene thermal maximum, which is relatively late compared with some palaeoenvironmental records from East Greenland. One possible reason could be the location of Store Koldewey at the very outer coast, with local climatic conditions strongly influenced by the cold East Greenland Current. From around 5000 cal. a BP, chironomid assemblages in Duck Lake and Hjort Lake again became more typical of those presently found in Northeast Greenland, indicating relatively cold and nutrient‐poor conditions. This shift coincides with an increase of ice‐rafting debris off East Greenland and an intensification of the East Greenland Current.     

Early Weichselian interstadial land biotas at Thule, Northwest Greenland

Allochthonous macroscopic plant and animal remains from a shallow-water marine deposit from Northwest Greenland, assigned to the Early Weichselian/Wisconsinan, are indicative of arctic biotas dominated by herbaceous plants. The presence of several southern extralimital taxa show that summer temperatures were considerably higher than at present, presumably with a mean July temperature of about 8°C, as compared with c . 4°C at present.     

Interglacial insects and their possible survival in Greenland during the last glacial stage

Sediments from the last interglacial (Eemian) in Jameson Land, East Greenland, and the Thule area, NW Greenland, have revealed a number of insect fragments of both arctic and more or less warmth‐demanding species. Altogether, the interglacial fauna of Coleoptera (beetles) indicates boreal conditions. Undoubtedly, a large fraction of the insect fauna succumbed when the mild Eemian climate cooled drastically during the last glacial stage. However, a group of hardy species now found far north into the High Arctic might be glacial survivors. It is, however, still puzzling why well‐adapted arctic beetle species such as Amara alpina and Isochnus arcticus did not survive the last glacial stage in Greenland. Two factors that have not been sufficiently considered when discussing survival contra extinction are the importance of microclimate and the number of sun‐hours during the Arctic summer. Even among the Coleoptera, which as a group fares quite badly in the Arctic, there might be survivors, at least among those found both during the interglacial and as fossils during the early Holocene. First of all, glacial survival applies to the seed bug Nysius groenlandicus, which was widespread during the Eemian, was found soon after the last deglaciation, and is now almost omnipresent in Greenland.     

Vegetation dynamics during the Younger Dryas-Holocene transition in the extreme northern taiga zone, northeastern European Russia

Vegetation dynamics during the Younger Dryas-Holocene transition in the extreme northern taiga zone of the Usa basin, northeastern European Russia, were reconstructed using plant macrofossil and pollen evidence from a sediment core from Lake Llet-Ti. The pollen stratigraphy during the Younger Dryas (about 12 500-11 500 cal. yr BP) is characterized by pollen types indicative of treeless arctic vegetation, whereas the macrofossil evidence shows the occurrence of scattered spruce and birch trees around the lake. The Younger Dryas-early Holocene transition is characterized by a rapid increase in vegetation density, including an increase in the birch population, followed by the expansion of the spruce population at about 10 000 cal. yr BP. Dense spruce-birch forest dominated until 5000 cal. yr BP. Our results contribute to the debate about the Lateglacial environments in northern Russia, and illustrate the importance of plant macrofossil records in Lateglacial vegetation reconstructions.     

Exotic pollen as an indicator of variable atmospheric circulation over the Labrador Sea region during the mid to late Holocene

Variability in the abundance of exotic (non‐native) pollen in sediment cores has long been considered as a potential proxy for changing atmospheric circulation, but the difficulty of gaining sufficient total exotic pollen and the incomplete understanding of atmospheric pollen transport patterns has hindered its application. In light of recent advances in the study of pollen transport, we present an exotic pollen record from two fjord sediment cores taken from the west (Placentia Bay, Newfoundland) and east (Narsaq Sund, Greenland) Labrador Sea as a basis for studying variations in regional atmospheric circulation. The two cores cover the last ca. 5500 years and indicate a shift in dominant spring/summer air masses at ca. 2000 (southern Greenland) and 3000 cal a BP (Newfoundland) transporting reduced concentrations of pollen from southerly and south‐westerly vegetation zones. This may suggest a shift away from more dominantly zonal atmospheric circulation (a feature of positive North Atlantic Oscillation years) to more frequent meridional circulation. These results support sea ice/sea‐surface temperature proxy reconstructions from Newfoundland, investigated as part of the same project, which also suggest increased winter atmospheric circulation during the early part of the time period studied. In this region, more positive North Atlantic Oscillation years, and therefore more zonal atmospheric circulation, are associated with increased atmospheric circulation in both the winter and the summer seasons. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Short-lived vegetational and environmental change during the Preboreal in the Biebrza Upper Basin (NE Poland)

A pollen diagram from the upper Biebrza basin (NE Poland) shows a conspicuous pollen fluctuation around 9650 BP, which is superimposed on a broader pollen fluctuation correlated with a more open vegetation phase during the Preboreal generally found in Europe. High-resolution pollen analyses indicate a duration of only a few years in which Pinus forests became more open. The resulting niches were partly occupied by Betula trees and partly by Betula shrubs, Artemisia, and Chenopodiaceae. Shortly before the increased opening of the upland vegetation, reed vegetation developed in the valley, in which Sparganium and later Typha became prominent. At the end of the short fluctuation, this reed vegetation diminished. The wetland vegetation development might be partly related to hydrological changes caused by a reduced evapotranspiration of the opened upland forest. The data presented here show that the open vegetation phase of the Preboreal was not of uniform character, but that within its short time span of ca 150 years an even shorter fluctuation of a few years to a few decades occurred. It is unknown whether this is a regionally restricted phenomenon or whether it has an extra-regional character.     

Holocene Treeline History and Climate Change Across Northern Eurasia

Radiocarbon-dated macrofossils are used to document Holocene treeline history across northern Russia (including Siberia). Boreal forest development in this region commenced by 10,000 yr B.P. Over most of Russia, forest advanced to or near the current arctic coastline between 9000 and 7000 yr B.P. and retreated to its present position by between 4000 and 3000 yr B.P. Forest establishment and retreat was roughly synchronous across most of northern Russia. Treeline advance on the Kola Peninsula, however, appears to have occurred later than in other regions. During the period of maximum forest extension, the mean July temperatures along the northern coastline of Russia may have been 2.5° to 7.0°C warmer than modern. The development of forest and expansion of treeline likely reflects a number of complimentary environmental conditions, including heightened summer insolation, the demise of Eurasian ice sheets, reduced sea-ice cover, greater continentality with eustatically lower sea level, and extreme Arctic penetration of warm North Atlantic waters. The late Holocene retreat of Eurasian treeline coincides with declining summer insolation, cooling arctic waters, and neoglaciation.     

Vegetation and climate c. 12 300–9000 cal. yr BP at Andøya,NW Norway

Owing to proximity of the North Atlantic Stream and the shelf, the Andøya biota are assumed to have responded rapidly to climatic changes taking place after the Weichselian glaciation. Palynological, macrofossil, loss‐on‐ignition, tephra and ¹⁴C data from three sites at the northern part of the island of Andøya were studied. The period 12 300–11 950 cal. yr BP was characterized by polar desert vegetation, and 11 950–11 050 cal. yr BP by a moisture‐demanding predominantly low‐arctic Oxyria vegetation. During the period 11 050–10 650 cal. yr BP, there was a climatic amelioration towards a sub‐arctic climate and heaths dominated by Empetrum. After 10 650 cal. yr BP the Oxyria vegetation disappeared. As early as about 10 800 cal. yr BP the bryozoan Cristatella mucedo indicated a climate sufficient for Betula woodland. However, tree birch did not establish until 10 420–10 250 cal. yr BP, indicating a time‐lag for the formation of Betula ecotypes adapted to the oceanic climate of Andøya. From about 10 150 to 9400 cal. yr BP the summers were dry and warm. There was a change towards moister, though comparatively warm, climatic conditions about 9400 cal. yr BP. The present data are compared with evidence from marine sediments and the deglaciation history in the region. It is suggested that during most of the period 11 500–10 250 cal. yr BP a similar situation as in present southern Greenland existed, with birch woodland in the inner fjords near the ice sheet and low‐arctic heath vegetation along the outer coast.     

The Late Devensian Lateglacial palaeoenvironmental record from Whitrig Bog, SE Scotland. 1. Lithostratigraphy, geochemistry and palaeobotany

This is the first of a series of articles presenting the results of a multi-proxy investigation aimed at reconstructing changes in the ecosystem and climate of Whitrig Bog, SE Scotland, during the last glacial-inter-glacial transition (Devensian Lateglacial, c . 14–10 ka BP). We present here the results from sediment lithology, chemistry, pollen, and plant macrofossil analyses. These data are used to infer the nature of the local catchment soils and both local and regional terrestrial vegetation. The interstadial period ( c . 13–11 ka BP) is characterized by a successional sequence developing from a landscape with bare, poorly developed minerogenic soils supporting a sparse herbaceous flora into open birch woodland with juniper scrub and stable organic soils. At c . 11 ka BP the Younger Dryas climatic cooling event caused an abrupt reversion to an open herbaceous arctic/alpine flora (e.g. macrofossil evidence of Silene furcata and Oxyria digyna ) and high levels of minerogenic erosion into the basin, indicating environmental response to a cold Arctic climate. In addition to this Younger Dryas climatic reversal, two lesser reversion episodes occurred earlier during the interstadial. The more pronounced of the two, late in the intersladial, is characterized by high levels of erosion and a change from birch/juniper woodland to an open herbaceous flora. The older oscillation occurs approximately mid-way through the interstadial sequence and is marked by similar pollen changes, albeit shorter lived and more subtle.     

A Holocene lacustrine record of environmental change in northeastern Prince of Wales Island, Nunavut, Canada

A core from Prince of Wales Island in the central Canadian Arctic was analysed for pollen and sediment characteristics. From 9200 yr BP to 7000 yr BP, the landscape supported a pioneer vegetation under cold conditions, with relatively high sediment input to the lake. Between 7000 and 4000 yr BP there was a period of high pollen concentrations, more abundant Cyperaceae and Dryas on the landscape and finer sediment input. In the last 4000 years, climate cooling is indicated.     

青藏高原现代表土中冷杉和云杉花粉的空间分布

文章通过对青藏高原北纬25°～45°,东经75°～106°范围内海拔1000～5700m的地区所采集的598个表土样品的孢粉分析,研究了现代表土中冷杉和云杉花粉的分布与植被、气候和海拔之间的关系。表土样品中冷杉和云杉花粉高含量范围对应着青藏高原南部和东部山地暗针叶林分布区,花粉等值线图较准确地反映了冷杉和云杉的丰富程度及其与植被、环境的关系;冷杉和云杉花粉百分含量随海拔和气候梯度变化表现出单峰分布模式,冷杉和云杉花粉百分含量大于20%的最适宜海拔高度是2500～4000m,最高含量中心限制在海拔3200m左右、年均温2～3℃范围内;较高的花粉百分含量带出现在年均温0～8℃、年均降水量400～850mm的区域。结果显示了青藏高原现代冷杉和云杉花粉的空间分布与植被、气候、海拔的空间变化之间很好的相关性,为利用花粉资料进行青藏高原地区的古气候重建提供了有益的资料     

Orbital- and millennial-scale vegetation and climate changes of the past 225 ka from Bear Lake,Utah–Idaho (USA)

Continuous high-resolution pollen data for the past 225 ka from sediments in Bear Lake, Utah–Idaho reflect changes in vegetation and climate that correlate well with variations in summer insolation and global ice-volume during MIS 1 through 7. Spectral analysis of the pollen data identified peaks at 21–22 and 100 ka corresponding to periodicities in Earth's precession and eccentricity orbital cycles. Suborbital climatic fluctuations recorded in the pollen data, denoted by 6 and 5 ka cyclicities, are similar to Greenland atmospheric temperatures and North Atlantic ice-rafting Heinrich events. Our results show that millennial-scale climate variability is also evident during MIS 5, 6 and 7, including the occurrence of Heinrich-like events in MIS 6, showing the long-term feature of such climate variability. This study provides clear evidence of a highly interconnected ocean–atmosphere system during the last two glacial/interglacial cycles that extended its influence as far as continental western North America. Our study also contributes to a greater understanding of the impact of long-term climate change on vegetation of western North America. Such high-resolution studies are particularly important in efforts of the scientific community to predict the consequences of future climate change.     

Vegetation in western Central Mexico during the last 50 000 years: modern analogs and climate in the Zacapu Basin

The late glacial and the transition towards the Holocene marked a period of significant environmental change at a global scale. In western Central Mexico, few records span beyond the Holocene, and little is known about Pleistocene climatic and environmental variability. Here we report on the pollen record of a composite sequence made of three cores that cover the last 50 ka (thousands of calibrated radiocarbon years before present) in the Zacapu Basin, western Central Mexico (～1970 m asl). The conjunction of modern pollen rain from the area with the composite fossil pollen sequence from cores Cantabria, Cantabria 1 and CEMCA Point‐1 provided a detailed history of the vegetation of the area. Recognition of modern environmental patterns through individual modern pollen taxa proved difficult, but multivariate analysis separated different vegetation types. No‐modern‐analog communities relative to the modern vegetation cover of the area were evident, especially during periods of drought. Apparently, summer precipitation was significant before 40 ka and after the deglaciation. However, this moisture source declined from ～40 to 10 ka because tradewinds from the Gulf of Mexico were blocked by the eastern mountains of Central Mexico as a result of lower temperatures. By contrast, westerly and northerly winds were enhanced by maximum ice cover from ～19 to 17 ka, providing abundant winter precipitation and therefore preventing extreme drought in the area. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

北半球高纬海冰主要气候特征的全球海冰气耦合模式数值模拟

利用一个全球海冰气耦合模式对北半球高纬海冰的主要气候特征进行了数值模拟。结果表明 ,模拟结果中海冰的季节变化特征合理 ,冬季海冰的主要地理分布特征都模拟得很好 ,但夏季北冰洋内部靠近欧亚大陆部分边缘海区海冰密集度模拟得偏大。模拟结果中 ,北半球高纬地区冬季海冰密集度具有显著的年际变化 ,变化最显著区域位于格陵兰海 ,其次是巴伦支海 ,这些特征均与观测结果一致。对这个海冰气耦合模式在北半球海冰平均气候状况、季节变化和年际变化方面模拟能力的检验结果表明 ,当前的研究工作为下一步进行长期变化趋势的模拟打下了基础。     

2000-2020年格陵兰冰盖夏季表面温度变化及其对物质平衡的影响北大核心CSCD

基于MODIS温度产品,着重分析了2000-2020年格陵兰冰盖夏季表面温度和表面融化范围的年际变化趋势;联合IMBIE(冰盖物质平衡对比实验)数据分析表面温度对于冰盖物质平衡的影响;进一步讨论了大气环流对于格陵兰冰盖表面温度变化的影响。结果表明:格陵兰冰盖夏季表面温度和融化范围趋势较为一致,2000年初期呈现出显著的上升趋势,2012年达到峰值,随后波动下降;整个研究阶段北部区域是增温速率最大的区域,高于其他任何区域两倍,东南部和西南部是温度最高的区域却具有最小的增长率;格陵兰冰盖夏季表面温度、融化范围以及物质平衡之间都具有显著的相关性,同时格陵兰冰盖夏季表面温度每上升1℃,会导致其物质损失增加74.29Gt·a;最后,经过对北大西洋涛动(NAO)和格陵兰阻塞指数(GBI)指数的分析得到,格陵兰冰盖夏季表面温度受到GBI的影响要强于NAO的影响,冰盖夏季表面温度和NAO呈现出负相关(r=-0.64,P<0.05),和GBI呈现出正相关(r=0.77,P<0.05)。     

Atmospheric circulation patterns during glacial inception: A possible candidate

Models of atmospheric circulation in the North Atlantic sector during glacial inception can be expanded to a hemispheric scale with the aid of diagnostic studies of the present climate. The present “Greenland Above” (GA) atmospheric circulation type may be a candidate for the atmospheric circulation type required during glacial inception. The pattern is an amplification, with only minor phase shifts, of the present average winter circulation pattern in the extratropical Northern Hemisphere. Southerly flow in the northwest Atlantic is associated with warm ocean temperatures, low sea ice in the Davis Strait, and increased precipitation over northeast Canada. Evidence from modeling of the present climate indicates that the GA pattern could be maintained by increased snow cover over eastern North America. Enhanced snow cover, due to decreased Northern Hemisphere summer insolation, could cause a similar response on an ice-age time scale.