Preboreal climatic oscillations recorded by pollen and foraminifera in the southern Adriatic Sea

Core SA03-1 from the southern Adriatic Sea (EC-Eurostrataform project) provides new information about climate changes and palaeocirculation in the Adriatic region during the last deglaciation. The results of an integrated study based on pollen and foraminifera records of the part of the core spanning the late Pleistocene–early Holocene transition (including the late Younger Dryas, the Preboreal and the beginning of the Boreal) are presented. The major vegetation changes and the short-term oscillations occurred during the early Holocene warming in the southern Adriatic basin on the basis of a high-resolution pollen record are documented. Vegetation changes are correlated to short-term oscillations detected in the foraminifera record during the same interval. The two independent terrestrial and marine proxies indicate at least three short-term cold and dry oscillations occurring at 11.2–11, 10.8–10.4 and 10 cal ka BP, according to the age–depth model adopted in this study. Finally, adopting an event-stratigraphy approach, the comparison of these results with two western Mediterranean records of Preboreal short-term oscillations suggest the occurrence of synchronous bio-events in the Mediterranean basin.     

Impact of Preboreal to Subatlantic shifts in climate on groundwater resources on the Arabian Peninsula

A large-scale numerical flow and transport model was developed for the central-eastern arid part of the Arabian Peninsula. The model was applied to a region with freshwater resources dating back to more humid periods of the past, which are faced with overexploitation today. Model inflow was based on infiltration around wadi beds and groundwater recharge. Inflow was balanced by natural outflows, such as evaporation from sabkhas, spring discharge, and discharge to the sea. Two models were developed: (1) a short-term present-day model to estimate effective model parameters, and (2) a long-term model to study the development of the groundwater resources during the Mid- and Late Holocene and the natural response of the groundwater system to changes in climate. Hydraulic model parameters (hydraulic conductivity and specific storage) were assigned with respect to geological structures. Hydraulic parameters were estimated with an inverse PEST model by calibrating against observed depression cones cause by groundwater abstraction. Sensitivity analysis demonstrated that estimated model parameters were associated with a high uncertainty at a certain distance from agricultural areas when calibration data were lacking. A long-term model starting 10,000 years BP was calibrated by spring discharge and palaeo-groundwater levels and validated using measured ¹⁴C groundwater ages. The long-model predicted that groundwater levels adapted in response to changes in precipitation. During the Mid-Holocene, which was characterized by an intensification of the monsoon season, groundwater levels increased by 10 m on the mainland within the shallow aquifers and adapted quickly to higher recharge rates. The deeper aquifers were less affected by changes in climate. Along the present-day coastline, the groundwater level rose by about 25 m due to the declined sea level in the Mid-Holocene. During this period, surface run-off was possible as groundwater levels temporarily reached the ground surface. The natural groundwater budget reacted sensitively to changes in climate. Between 10 and 3 ka, groundwater storage occurred. During the Late Holocene, at 3 ka, natural depletion of the groundwater system began, which still prevails today.     

Holocene climate in the subarctic fjord Malangen, northern Norway: a multi-proxy study

A Holocene sedimentary record from the deep-silled Malangen fjord in northern Norway reveals regional changes in sedimentary environment and climate. Down-core analysis of two sediment cores includes multi-core sensor logging, grain size, x-radiography, foraminifera, oxygen isotopes, dinoflagellates, pollen, trace elements and radiocarbon datings. The cores are located just proximal to the submarine Younger Dryas moraine complex, and reveal the deglaciation after Younger Dryas and the postglacial evolution. Five sedimentary units have been identified. The oldest units, V and IV, bracket the Younger Dryas glacial readvance in the fjord between 12 700 cal. years BP and 11 800 cal. years BP. This is followed by deposition of glaciomarine sediments (units IV and III) starting around 12 100 cal. years BP. Glaciomarine sedimentation ceased in the fjord c. 10 300 cal. years BP and was replaced by open marine sedimentation (units II and I). A rapid stepwise warming occurred during the Preboreal. Onset of surface water warming lagged bottom water warming by several hundred years. The δ[Formula: See Text]O record indicates a significant, gradual bottom water cooling (c. 4°C) between 8000 and 2000 cal. years BP, a trend also supported by the other proxy data. Other records in the region, as well as GCM simulations, also support this long-term climatic evolution. Superimposed on this cooling were brief warmings around 6000 cal. years BP and 2000 cal. years BP. The long-term change may be driven by orbitally forced reduction in insolation, whereas the short-term changes may be linked to for example solar forcing, meltwater and NAO changes all causing regional changes in the North Atlantic heat transport.     

Younger Dryas deglaciation at Mt. Billingen, and clay varve dating of the Younger Dryas/Preboreal transition

A clay varve chronology has been established for the Late Weichselian ice recession east of Mt. Billingen in Västergötland, Sweden. In this area the Middle-Swedish end moraine zone was built up as a consequence of cold climate during the Younger Dryas stadial. A change-over from rapid to slow retreat as a result of climatic deterioration at the Alleröd/Younger Dryas transition cannot be traced with certainty in the varve sequences, but it seems to have taken place just before 11,600 varve years BP. The following deglaciation was very slow for about 700 years — within the Middle-Swedish end moraine zone the annual ice-front retreat was only c . 10 m on average. A considerable time-lag is to be expected between the Younger Dryas climatic event and this period of slow retreat. The 700 years of slow retreat were succeeded by 200 years of more rapid recession, about 50–75 m annually, and then by a mainly rapid and uncomplicated retreat of the ice-front by 100–200 m/year or more, characterizing the next 1500 years of deglaciation in south and central Sweden. The change from about 50–75 m to 100–200 m of annual ice-front retreat may reflect the Younger Dryas/Preboreal transition. Clay-stratigraph-ically defined, the transition is dated at c . 10,740 varve years BP, with an error of +100 to -250 years. In the countings of ice layers in Greenland ice cores (GRIP and GISP-2) the end of the Younger Dryas climatic event is 800–900 years older. However, a climatic amelioration after the cold part of the Younger Dryas and in early Preboreal should rapidly be reflected by for example chemical components and dust in Greenland ice cores, and by increasing δ¹³C content in tree rings. On the other hand, the start of a rapid retreat of the inland ice margin can be delayed by several centuries. This can explain at least a part of the discrepancy between the time-scales.     

30~10 ka云南高山湖泊高分辨率生物记录与气候突变事件

通过对云南泸沽湖高分辨率沉积指标序列（硅藻、枝角类和孢粉）的对比分析,初步揭示了水生生物（硅藻、枝角类和水生孢粉）对末次冰盛期期间气候变化的快速响应过程。结果表明,硅藻群落组成首先响应末次冰盛期时期的开始变冷,枝角类滞后,水生孢粉则表现为渐进的响应过程。然而,泸沽湖沉积硅藻记录对末次冰期以来的短时间尺度气候快速变化的Heinrich和新仙女木事件并未有响应,揭示气候事件判别的准确性取决于指标直接响应气候的特征以及多指标的综合对比。综合西南季风区云南不同海拔湖泊沉积记录（硅藻、孢粉、摇蚊等）获得的2万年以来数据及序列表明,末次冰期千年尺度的气候突变事件（Heinrich 1、Bølling/Allerød暖期和新仙女木YD冷事件）在整个西南季风系统中都有反映,且气候事件变化区间及幅度存在区域差异,其根本原因是受不同气候系统、复杂地形（青藏高原）的制约。

     

Ice-core records of global climate and environment changes

Precipitation accumulating on the Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets records several key parameters (temperature, accumulation, composition of atmospheric gases and aerosols) of primary interest for documenting the past global environment over recent climatic cycles and the chemistry of the preindustrial atmosphere. Several deep ice cores from Antarctica and Greenland have been studied over the last fifteen years. In both hemispheres, temperature records (based on stable isotope measurements in water) show the succession of glacial and interglacial periods. However, detailed features of the climatic stages are not identical in Antarctica and in Greenland. A tight link between global climate and greenhouse gas concentrations was discovered, CO₂ and CH₄ concentrations being lower in glacial conditions by about 80 and 0.3 ppmv, respectively, with respect to their pre-industrial levels of 280 and 0.65 ppmv. Coldest stages are also characterized by higher sea-salt and crustal aerosol concentrations. In Greenland, contrary to Antarctica, ice-age ice is alkaline. Gas-derived aerosol (in particular, sulfate) concentrations are generally higher for glacial periods, but not similar in both the hemispheres. Marine and continental biomass-related species are significant in Antarctica and Greenland ice, respectively. Finally, the growing impact of anthropogenic activities on the atmospheric composition is well recorded in both polar regions for long-lived compounds (in particular greenhouse gases), but mostly in Greenland for short-lived pollutants.     

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.     

A multi-proxy paleolimnological reconstruction of Holocene climate conditions in the Great Basin, United States

A sediment core spanning  7000 cal yr BP recovered from Stella Lake, a small sub-alpine lake located in Great Basin National Park, Nevada, was analyzed for subfossil chironomids (non-biting midges), diatoms, and organic content (estimated by loss-on-ignition (LOI)). Subfossil chironomid analysis indicates that Stella Lake was characterized by a warm, middle Holocene, followed by a cool “Neoglacial” period, with the last two millennia characterized by a return to warmer conditions. Throughout the majority of the core the Stella Lake diatom-community composition is dominated by small, periphytic taxa which are suggestive of shallow, cool, alkaline, oligotrophic waters with extensive seasonal ice cover. A reconstruction of mean July air temperature (MJAT) was developed by applying a midge-based inference model for MJAT (two-component WA-PLS) consisting of 79 lakes and 54 midge taxa (r_jack² = 0.55, RMSEP = 0.9°C). Comparison of the chironomid-inferred temperature record to existing regional paleoclimate reconstructions suggests that the midge-inferred temperatures correspond well to regional patterns. This multi-proxy record provides valuable insight into regional Holocene climate and environmental conditions by providing a quantitative reconstruction of peak Holocene warmth and aquatic ecosystem response to these changes in the Great Basin, a region projected to experience increased aridity and higher temperatures.     

Glacial rebound and relative sea levels in Europe from tide-gauge records

Relative sea levels recorded by tide gauges during the past century in northern Europe are dominated by isostatic readjustment of the land following the latest deglaciation of Scandinavia and Scotland. Maximum relative uplift of the land is centered near the northern Gulf of Bothnia (at a rate of 6–7 mm/yr), with a smaller secondary maximum over Scotland (also at a rate of 6–7 mm/yr). Although there probably is a relaxing peripheral bulge surrounding the regions of maximum uplift, such a former bulge is poorly defined by coastal tide gauges; in the North Sea evidence for sinking of a former peripheral bulge of glacial origin is complicated by post-Carboniferous basin deepening with sediment loading and possible rejuvenation associated with glaciation. Other data (gravity, radiocarbon, geomorphology) support the interpretation that glacial isostasy controls the structure of relative sea-level change. Included in this pattern of relative rise of land is a eustatic signal that biases the estimates of glacial rebound. Such a eustatic signal could not be isolated from the isostatic signal using the present data, but glacial isostasy clearly is a major control for relative sea levels of the region.

Absence of significant higher frequency (2–50 yr) cycles in mean annual sea levels of northern Europe reflects the complex hydrologic/oceanographic forces to which sea levels must respond. Whereas other coastal regions show significant higher frequency peaks in the energy spectra of relative sea levels, the many marginal seas in northern Europe preclude a clear relation between hydrologic/oceanographic forcing and relative sea levels, although this relation must exist on a more local scale.     

Paleoenvironmental proxy records from Lake Hovsgol, Mongolia, and a synthesis of Holocene climate change in the Lake Baikal watershed

Here we discuss paleoenvironmental evolution in the Baikal region during the Holocene using new records of aquatic (diatom) and terrestrial vegetation changes from Hovsgol, Mongolia's largest and deepest lake. We reconcile previous contradictory Baikal timescales by constraining reservoir corrections of AMS dates on bulk sedimentary organic carbon. Synthesis of the Holocene records in the Baikal watershed reveals a northward progression in landscape/vegetation changes and an anti-phase behavior of diatom and biogenic silica proxies in neighboring rift lakes. In Lake Baikal, these proxies appear to be responsive to annual temperature increases after 6 ka, whereas in Lake Hovsgol they respond to higher precipitation/runoff from 11 to 7 ka. Unlike around Lake Baikal, warmer summers between 6 and 3.5 ka resulted in the decline, not expansion, of forest vegetation around Lake Hovsgol, apparently as a result of higher soil temperatures and lower moisture availability. The regional climatic proxy data are consistent with a series of 500-yr time slice Holocene GCM simulations for continental Eurasia. Our results allow reevaluation of the concepts of ‘the Holocene optimum’ and a ‘maximum of the Asian summer monsoon’, as applied to paleoclimate records from continental Asia.     

Lateglacial and Holocene climate oscillations in the South-western Alps: An attempt at quantitative reconstruction

The high topographic complexity of the Alpine region is the origin of important climate differences that characterise the different areas of the Alps. These differences might have had a strong influence on vegetation and on migrations of human populations in the past. Based on an improved database containing about 3000 modern pollen samples, the standard “Modern Analogue Technique” has been applied to five pollen sequences from the subalpine belt of the South-western Italian Alps (Laghi dell’Orgials, 2240 m, Lago delle Fate, 2130 m, Torbiera del Biecai, 1920 m, Rifugio Mondovì, 1760 m, Pian Marchisio, 1624 m) to provide quantitative climate estimates for the Lateglacial and Holocene periods. Consistent climate trends are reconstructed for the different sequences. Sites recorded in detail the climate variations when they were located at the limit of two ecotones. Sites above the tree line recorded lower temperature values and less important variations. Climate was cold and dry during the Oldest and Younger Dryas and close to present-day values during the Bølling/Allerød interstadial. At the beginning of the Holocene, climate changed to warmer and moister conditions; a high number of climate fluctuations are recorded at several sites. A climate optimum is recorded in the Atlantic period, which caused a development of fir above its present-day altitudinal distribution. Climatic differences recorded at the various sites are discussed taking into account the limits of the method.     

ESR dating and the human evolution: contribution to the chronology of the earliest humans in Europe

In the last 20 years, the electron spin resonance (ESR) dating method has allowed the establishment of a chronological time frame over most of the history of human evolution. Despite many difficulties found for ESR dating of bones and carbonates, tooth enamel dated by ESR has been proven as a reliable method in its application to fossil teeth and quartz. Both of the latter materials have allowed dating of Early and Middle Pleistocene sites which are not datable using other methods such as the Argon–Argon method. In particular, recent discoveries of human remains in western Europe have been proposed to be sites of the earliest arrival of humans there, and have been dated to the Early Pleistocene by ESR using quartz and tooth enamel.Combined ESR and U-series dating of fossil herbivore teeth are the only means of dating layers from which such ancient remains have been recovered in western Europe. Good examples are the sites of Atapuerca Gran Dolina, Spain and Visogliano, Italy which have been dated using tooth enamel.When no bones and teeth can be found in prehistoric sites, ESR dating on quartz extracted from sediments has been used to date sites whose ages range over the entire Quaternary period. We present here two examples that occur in fluvial terraces of the river Creuse, France and at Monte Poggiolo site, Italy, where several artefacts of an archaic pebble industry have been recovered.     

Permafrost and climate in Europe: Monitoring and modelling thermal,geomorphological and geotechnical responses

We present a review of the changing state of European permafrost within a spatial zone that includes the continuous high latitude arctic permafrost of Svalbard and the discontinuous high altitude mountain permafrost of Iceland, Fennoscandia and the Alps. The paper focuses on methodological developments and data collection over the last decade or so, including research associated with the continent-scale network of instrumented permafrost boreholes established between 1998 and 2001 under the European Union PACE project. Data indicate recent warming trends, with greatest warming at higher latitudes. Equally important are the impacts of shorter-term extreme climatic events, most immediately reflected in changes in active layer thickness. A large number of complex variables, including altitude, topography, insolation and snow distribution, determine permafrost temperatures. The development of regionally calibrated empirical-statistical models, and physically based process-oriented models, is described, and it is shown that, though more complex and data dependent, process-oriented approaches are better suited to estimating transient effects of climate change in complex mountain topography. Mapping and characterisation of permafrost depth and distribution requires integrated multiple geophysical approaches and recent advances are discussed. We report on recent research into ground ice formation, including ice segregation within bedrock and vein ice formation within ice wedge systems. The potential impacts of climate change on rock weathering, permafrost creep, landslides, rock falls, debris flows and slow mass movements are also discussed. Recent engineering responses to the potentially damaging effects of climate warming are outlined, and risk assessment strategies to minimise geological hazards are described. We conclude that forecasting changes in hazard occurrence, magnitude and frequency is likely to depend on process-based modelling, demanding improved understanding of geomorphological process-response systems and their impacts on human activity.     

Cretaceous climate oscillations in the southern palaeolatitudes: New stable isotope evidence from India and Madagascar

Palaeotemperatures for the Cretaceous of India and Madagascar have been determined on the basis of oxygen isotopic analysis of well-preserved Albian belemnite rostra and Maastrichtian bivalve shells of from the Trichinopoly district, southern India, and Albian nautiloid and ammonoid cephalopods from the Mahajang Province, Madagascar. The Albian (possibly late Albian) palaeotemperatures for Trichinopoly district are inferred to range from 14.9 °C to 18.5 °C for the epipelagic zone, and from 14.3 °C to 15.9 °C for the mesopelagic zone, based on analyses of 65 samples; isotopic palaeotemperatures interpreted as summer and winter values for near-bottom shelf waters in this area fluctuate from 16.3 to 18.5 °C and from 14.9 to 16.1 °C, respectively. The mentioned palaeotemperatures are very similar to those calculated from isotopic composition of middle Albian belemnites of the middle latitude area of Pas-de-Calais in Northern hemisphere but significantly higher than those calculated from isotopic composition of Albian belemnites from southern Argentina and the Antarctic and middle Albian belemnites of Australia located within the warm-temperate climatic zone. Isotopic analysis of early Albian cephalopods from Madagascar shows somewhat higher palaeotemperatures for summer near-bottom shelf waters in this area (20.2-21.6 °C) in comparison with late Albian palaeotemperatures calculated from southern India fossils, but similar winter values (13.3-16.4 °C); however, the latter values are somewhat higher than those calculated from early Albian ammonoids of the tropical-subtropical climatic zone of the high latitude area of southern Alaska and the Koryak Upland. The new isotopic palaeotemperature data suggest that southern India and Madagascar were located apparently in middle latitudes (within the tropical-subtropical climatic zone) during Albian time. In contrast to the Albian fossils, isotope results of well-preserved early Maastrichtian bivalve shells from the Ariyalur Group, Trichinopoly district, are characterised by lower δ¹⁸O values (up to −5.8‰) but normal δ¹³C values, which might be a result local freshwater input into the marine environment. Our data suggest that the early Maastrichtian palaeotemperature of the southern Indian near-bottom shelf waters was probably about 21.2 °C, and that this middle latitude region continued to be a part of tropical-subtropical climatic zone, but with tendency of increasing of humidity at the end of Cretaceous time.     

泥河湾盆地上新世末期植被与气候变化的孢粉学记录

泥河湾盆地沉积巨厚的上新世末至晚更新世的河湖相、湖沼相地层,是进行上新世至更新世环境变化研究的理想区域。本研究选择泥河湾盆地郝家台NHA钻孔的上新统稻地组顶部厚19.2 m,深度为15600~17520 cm,通过对其岩性段97个孢粉和粒度分析,探讨了该地区上新世末期植被及气候变化特征。根据已有古地磁及地层对比,采样地层的年代为2.92~2.56 Ma。分析结果显示,该时段植被及气候变化可划分为4个阶段：阶段1（2.92~2.82 Ma）,松属花粉含量多高于30%,云杉属多低于20%;阔叶乔木约13%,为研究段最高;草本植物以蒿属、藜科为主,含量均在10%~20%之间,指示采样点周边应以阔叶林和松林为主,山地云杉林存在,气候较温暖湿润。阶段2（2.82~2.71 Ma）,云杉属花粉含量明显上升,最高达90%,蒿属和藜科花粉比例也增加明显,最高可达80%,为研究段最高值;松属花粉含量明显降低,多低于10%;阔叶树木的花粉减少至5%以下,表明在此期间气候总体趋于变冷变干,且气候变化剧烈,林线下降,周边植被以云杉林或草原为主。阶段3（2.71~2.66 Ma）,松属花粉含量明显上升,达40%以上,云杉属含量总体下降,多低于30%;阔叶乔木少见;蒿属、藜科含量低于10%;蕨类孢子约11%,达到整段最高值,指示气候转暖湿,周边植被以松林为主,云杉林退至山地,但阔叶树花粉含量较低,显示温暖程度低于阶段1。阶段4（2.66~2.56 Ma）,云杉属花粉占绝对优势,多高于80%,松属多低于10%;阔叶乔木近乎消失,暗针叶林扩张,气候进一步变冷,进入更新世的冰期环境。由此可见,上新世末期（2.92 Ma以来）至更新世的气候变化存在明显的2个暖期和2个冷期。其中研究段代表寒冷气候的云杉属花粉高含量阶段与深海氧同位素代表寒冷的MIS 102、MIS 104、G2、G6和G10阶段有较好的对应关系。

     

Peat multi-proxy data from Männikjärve bog as indicators of late Holocene climate changes in Estonia

Sillasoo, Ü., Mauquoy, D., Blundell, A., Charman, D., Blaauw, M., Daniell, J. R. G., Toms, P., Newberry, J., Chambers, F M. & Karofeld, E. 2007 (January): Peat multi‐proxy data from Männikjärve bog as indicators of late Holocene climate changes in Estonia. Boreas, Vol. 36, pp. 20–37. Oslo. ISSN 0300–9483. As part of a wider project on European climate change over the past 4500 years, a 4.5‐m peat core was taken from a lawn microform on Männikjärve bog, Estonia. Several methods were used to yield proxy‐climate data: (i) a quadrat and leaf‐count method for plant macrofossil data, (ii) testate amoebae analysis, and (iii) colorimetric determination of peat humification. These data are provided with an exceptionally high resolution and precise chronology. Changes in bog surface wetness were inferred using Detrended Correspondence Analysis (DCA) and zonation of macrofossil data, particularly concerning the occurrence of Sphagnum balticum, and a transfer function for water‐table depth for testate amoebae data. Based on the results, periods of high bog surface wetness appear to have occurred at c. 3100,3010–2990,2300, 1750–1610, 1510, 1410, 1110, 540 and 310 cal. yr BP, during four longer periods between c. 3170 and 2850 cal. yr BP, 2450 and 2000 cal. yr BP, 1770 and 1530 cal. yr BP and in the period from 880 cal. yr BP until the present. In the period between 1770 and 1530 cal. yr BP, the extension or initiation of a hollow microtope occurred, which corresponds with other research results from Mannikjarve bog. This and other changes towards increasing bog surface wetness may be the responses to colder temperatures and the predominance of a more continental climate in the region, which favoured the development of bog micro‐depressions and a complex bog microtopography. Located in the border zone of oceanic and continental climatic sectors, in an area almost without land uplift, this study site may provide valuable information about changes in palaeohydrological and palaeoclimatological conditions in the northern parts of the eastern Baltic Sea region.     

Lateglacial older and younger coversand in northwest Europe: chronology and relation to climate and vegetation

Kolstrup, E. 2007 (January): Lateglacial older and younger coversand in northwest Europe: chronology and relation to climate and vegetation. Boreas , Vol. 36, pp. 65–75. Oslo. ISSN 0300–9483.
Dutch, Belgian, German and Danish Lateglacial localities with both coversand and well-dated organic deposits are used to relate older and younger coversand development to changes in climate and vegetation. The number of well-dated coversand sequences in northwest Europe is low, but it appears that the transition from older to younger coversand was asynchronous and spanned Bølling sensu stricto to late Allerød, so there is no clear single cause for the change in grain-size composition of the sediment. Aeolian activity took place during all parts of the Lateglacial and seems to have continued well into the Holocene. The effect of changing temperatures is mainly reflected indirectly as periods with denser vegetation, especially forest, that led to reduced coversand net-accumulation. The outline proposes that the lithostratigraphic position of a peat layer cannot be used as an Allerød marker because even a well-developed peat layer within coversands may differ in age from one area to the next. The combined coversand and vegetation development shows that local conditions were important for the accumulation and preservation of sediments.