New insights on Late Quaternary Asian palaeomonsoon variability and the timing of the Last Glacial Maximum in southwestern China

A ～6.35 m core (06SD) was retrieved from Lake Shudu, Yunnan Province, China. The sediments spanning the period ～22.6–10.5 kcal. yr BP (6.35–1.44 m) were analysed using a combination of variables including pollen, charcoal, particle size, magnetic susceptibility and loss-on-ignition. The resulting palaeorecord provides a high-resolution reconstruction of Late Pleistocene to Early Holocene climatic and environmental changes in southwestern China. Our findings indicate that from c. 22.6 to 17.7 kcal. yr BP, vegetation assemblages were primarily aligned to sparse xerophytic grassland/tundra or cold-tolerant boreal Pinus forest, indicating that climatic conditions in southwestern China were cold and dry. However, from c. 17.7 to 17.4 kcal. yr BP, the Lake Shudu record is punctuated by marked environmental changes. These include the establishment of denser vegetation cover, a marked expansion of boreal Pinus forest and enhanced hydrological activity in the catchment over centennial timescales, perhaps suggesting that stepwise variations in the Asian Monsoon were triggering fundamental environmental changes over sub-millennial timescales. Thereafter, the pollen record captures a period of environmental instability reflected in fluctuations across all of the variables, which persists until c. 17.1 kcal. yr BP. After c. 17.1 kcal. yr BP, the expansion of steppe vegetation cover and cold–cool mixed forest consisting of mesophilous vegetation such as Tsuga and Picea, thermophilous trees including Ulmus and deciduous Quercus inferred from the Lake Shudu pollen record point to the establishment of warmer, wetter and perhaps more seasonal conditions associated with a strengthening Asian Summer Monsoon during the shift from Pleistocene to Holocene climatic conditions.     

New results on palaeoenvironmental conditions in equatorial Africa derived from alluvial sediments of Cameroonian rivers

The ReSaKo project undertook extended fieldwork across southern Cameroon to explore the palaeoenvironmental information recorded in the alluvial sediments of equatorial African rivers. 160 hand-corings reaching maximum depths of 550 cm were carried out on alluvial ridges and floodplains of major Cameroonian fluvial systems. These multilayered, sandy to clayey alluvia contain sedimentary form-units and palaeosurfaces, which provide excellent additional proxy data archives for the reconstruction of palaeoenvironmental conditions in western equatorial Africa. Coring transects and sedimentary profiles document grain-size shifts and distinguishable sedimentary units in the stratigraphic record, which evidence (fluvial-)morphological adjustments of the fluvial systems in response to external forcing and (river-) intrinsic variability. 76 ¹⁴C-(AMS)-dated samples from organic sediment and macro-rests (fossil organic remains like wood, leafs, etc.) embedded in these sedimentary units indicate Late Pleistocene to recent ages (uncalibrated ¹⁴C-ages: 48–0.2 ka BP). The tentative interpretation of the alluvial record yields excellent additional information on the complex feedbacks between climate, ocean, fluvial as well as ecological systems and human activity in a little-studied region with high sensitive tropical ecosystems. δ¹³C-values (?35.5 to ?18.0‰) of the dated samples indicate the persistence of C₃-dominated gallery forests across the rivers (‘fluvial rain forest refuges’) despite several climatic fluctuations (aridifications, e.g. Last Glacial Maximum around 20 ka BP, Younger Dryas 13–11 ka BP). This research complements earlier results from additional terrestrial and marine proxy data archives on the Late Quaternary history of monsoonal western equatorial Africa.     

15,000 Years of vegetation change in the Bonneville basin: the Blue Lake pollen record

This paper contributes to the emerging picture of late Pleistocene and Holocene environmental change in the Bonneville basin, western North America, through analysis of pollen and sediments from the Blue Lake marsh system, a major wetland area located on the western margin of the Great Salt Lake desert. Analyses of data obtained from the upper 4 m of the Blue Lake core suggest that during the latest Pleistocene, when Lake Bonneville covered the Blue Lake site, pine and sagebrush dominated terrestrial plant communities. These steppe-woodland taxa declined in abundance after ～12 cal ka BP. Wetland plant communities developed at or nearby Blue Lake by ～11.9 cal ka BP and bulrush-dominated marshes were established no later than 10.8 cal ka BP. The Blue Lake wetlands largely desiccated during a dry and warm early middle Holocene ～8.3–6.5 cal ka BP. Climatic amelioration starting ～6.5 cal ka BP is marked principally by a local return of marshes at the expense of playa and grass meadow communities, and a regional increase in sagebrush relative to other dryland shrubs. Singleleaf pinyon pine migrated into the nearby Goshute Mountains after ～8 cal ka BP. Late Holocene fluctuations include cool intervals from ～4.4 to 3.4 and ～2.7 to 1.5 cal ka BP and warmer conditions from 3.4 to 2.7 cal BP and after 1.5 cal ka BP.     

Effect of aridity and rainfall seasonality on vegetation in the southern tropics of East Africa during the Pleistocene/Holocene transition

Fossil pollen analyses from northern Lake Malawi, southeast Africa, provide a high-resolution record of vegetation change during the Pleistocene/Holocene transition (~ 18–9 ka). Recent studies of local vegetation from lowland sites have reported contrasting rainfall signals during the Younger Dryas (YD). The Lake Malawi record tracks regional vegetation changes and allows comparison with other tropical African records identifying vegetation opening and local forest maintenance during the YD. Our record shows a gradual decline of afromontane vegetation at 18 ka. Around 14.5 ka, tropical seasonal forest and Zambezian miombo woodland became established. At ~ 13 ka, drier, more open formations gradually became prevalent. Although tropical seasonal forest taxa were still present in the watershed during the YD, this drought-intolerant forest type was likely restricted to areas of favorable edaphic conditions along permanent waterways. The establishment of drought-tolerant vegetation followed the reinforcement of southeasterly tradewinds resulting in a more pronounced dry winter season after ~ 11.8 ka. The onset of the driest, most open vegetation type was coincident with a lake low stand at the beginning of the Holocene. This study demonstrates the importance of global climate forcing and local geomorphological conditions in controlling vegetation distribution.     

Late Pleistostene-Holocene sedimentation in lakes of central Transbaikalia: Implications for climate and environment changes

We present integrated mineralogical, geochemical, and palynological data for Late Pleistocene-Holocene bottom sediments of Lake Arakhlei located in the Beklemishev tectonic basin in the southern Vitim Plateau (central Transbaikalia). The sediment samples were studied by X-ray diffractometry (XRD), Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, laser particle sizing, spore-pollen analysis, radiocarbon (¹⁴C AMS) dating, and XRF spectrometry. The cored 128 cm long section of lake sediments consists of two units: One is composed mainly of layered silicates (illite-smectite, illite, chlorite, chlorite-smectite, muscovite, and kaolinite) and organic matter (OM) but no carbonates from 0 to 80 cm and the other contains authigenic Ca-Mg carbonates (up to 30%) of Mg-calcite and excess-Ca dolomite from 80 to 128 cm. The sediments also contain a rare mineral weddellite CaC₂O₄2H₂O discovered for the first time in Transbaikalian lakes. The evolution of Lake Arakhlei and its drainage basin comprised four stages, with pollen zones that mark the Late Pleistocene and Holocene climate history of the Beklemishev basin. The reconstructed history of Lake Arakhlei for the past ~ 15,500 years followed general climatic changes in the Northern Hemisphere. Thus, integrated research, including detailed analysis of mineral components and spore-pollen assemblages in lake sediments, is a workable tool for studying climatic controls of continental sedimentation.     

Speleothems from the earliest Quaternary: Snapshots of paleoclimate and landscape evolution at the northern rim of the Alps

Ancient cave systems in the Northern Calcareous Alps, today located well above the timberline at altitudes of 2400–2500 m, host U-rich speleothems that preserved growth layers on the microscopic scale of presumably annual origin. Two flowstone samples were dated to 2.019 + 0.037/?0.069 Ma and 1.730 + 0.032/?0.068 Ma, respectively, using U–Pb isochron techniques. These ages are corroborated by the Late Pliocene to Early Pleistocene pollen spectrum extracted from one of the samples. We use a multiproxy approach and exploit laminated speleothem sequences to tie high-resolution stable isotope data to a floating lamina-counted chronology. O isotope values of growth intervals when calcite deposition was close to isotopic equilibrium are low compared to modern and Holocene speleothems from other alpine caves and are inconsistent with the current altitudinal setting of the caves. A vegetated but geomorphologically stable alpine catchment (i.e. ～2000 m asl., no (peri)glacial processes) combined with a deep-seated cave (the thickness of the vadose zone might have exceeded 1000 m) is required in order to reconcile the isotopic data with the pollen record and the petrographic evidence. Furthermore, the data can be used to constrain the rate for Quaternary rock-uplift to ≤0.8 mm/annum for this frontal part of the European Alps. Collectively, the data suggest that these speleothems formed both during interglacials (MIS 59 or 61) and interglacial–glacial transitions (MIS 75/74 or 77/76), but the seasonal precipitation pattern was arguably markedly different from today's. Provided that the highly regular microscopic laminae are indeed annual, lamina counts suggest a minimum length of ca 6 ka for interglacials during the earliest Pleistocene.     

Relative timing of last glacial maximum and late-glacial events in the central tropical Andes

Whether or not tropical climate fluctuated in synchrony with global events during the Late Pleistocene is a key problem in climate research. However, the timing of past climate changes in the tropics remains controversial, with a number of recent studies reporting that tropical ice age climate is out of phase with global events. Here, we present geomorphic evidence and an in-situ cosmogenic ³He surface-exposure chronology from Nevado Coropuna, southern Peru, showing that glaciers underwent at least two significant advances during the Late Pleistocene prior to Holocene warming. Comparison of our glacial-geomorphic map at Nevado Coropuna to mid-latitude reconstructions yields a striking similarity between Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) and Late-Glacial sequences in tropical and temperate regions.Exposure ages constraining the maximum and end of the older advance at Nevado Coropuna range between 24.5 and 25.3 ka, and between 16.7 and 21.1 ka, respectively, depending on the cosmogenic production rate scaling model used. Similarly, the mean age of the younger event ranges from 10 to 13 ka. This implies that (1) the LGM and the onset of deglaciation in southern Peru occurred no earlier than at higher latitudes and (2) that a significant Late-Glacial event occurred, most likely prior to the Holocene, coherent with the glacial record from mid and high latitudes. The time elapsed between the end of the LGM and the Late-Glacial event at Nevado Coropuna is independent of scaling model and matches the period between the LGM termination and Late-Glacial reversal in classic mid-latitude records, suggesting that these events in both tropical and temperate regions were in phase.     

Preboreal climate oscillations in Europe: Wiggle-match dating and synthesis of Dutch high-resolution multi-proxy records

In order to compare environmental and inferred climatic change during the Preboreal in The Netherlands, five terrestrial records were analysed. Detailed multi-proxy analyses including microfossils (e.g., pollen, spores, algae, and fungal spores), macroremains (e.g., seeds, fruits, wood, mosses, etc.), and loss on ignition measurements were carried out with high temporal resolution. To link the five Preboreal records, accurate chronologies were produced by AMS ¹⁴C wiggle-match dating. The Dutch records show that following the Lateglacial/Holocene climate warming, birch woodlands expanded between 11,530 and 11,500 cal BP during the Friesland Phase of the Preboreal. After the Friesland Phase, two distinct climatic shifts could be inferred: (1) around 11,430–11,350 cal BP the expansion of birch forests was interrupted by a dry continental phase with open grassland vegetation, the Rammelbeek Phase. This phase was coeval with the coldest part of the Preboreal oscillation (PBO) as observed in the δ¹⁸O record of the Greenland ice-core records and has been attributed to a large meltwater flux that resulted in a temporary decrease of the thermohaline circulation in the North Atlantic. (2) At the start of the Late Preboreal, between 11,270 and 11,210 cal BP, a sudden shift to a more humid climate occurred and birch forests expanded again. A simultaneous increase in the cosmogenic nuclides ¹⁴C and ¹⁰Be suggests that these changes in climate and vegetation were forced by a sudden decline in solar activity. Expansion of pine occurred during the later part of the Late Preboreal. At the onset of the Boreal, between 10,770 and 10,700 cal BP, dense woodlands with hazel, oak, elm and pine started to develop in The Netherlands.     

Evidence for prolonged El Nino-like conditions in the Pacific during the Late Pleistocene: a 43 ka noble gas record from California groundwaters

Information on the ocean/atmosphere state over the period spanning the Last Glacial Maximum – from the Late Pleistocene to the Holocene – provides crucial constraints on the relationship between orbital forcing and global climate change. The Pacific Ocean is particularly important in this respect because of its dominant role in exporting heat and moisture from the tropics to higher latitudes. Through targeting groundwaters in the Mojave Desert, California, we show that noble gas derived temperatures in California averaged 4.2 ± 1.1 °C cooler in the Late Pleistocene (from ～43 to ～12 ka) compared to the Holocene (from ～10 to ～5 ka). Furthermore, the older groundwaters contain higher concentrations of excess air (entrained air bubbles) and have elevated oxygen-18/oxygen-16 ratios (δ¹⁸O) – indicators of vigorous aquifer recharge, and greater rainfall amounts and/or more intense precipitation events, respectively. Together, these paleoclimate indicators reveal that cooler and wetter conditions prevailed in the Mojave Desert from ～43 to ～12 ka. We suggest that during the Late Pleistocene, the Pacific ocean/atmosphere state was similar to present-day El Nino-like patterns, and was characterized by prolonged periods of weak trade winds, weak upwelling along the eastern Pacific margin, and increased precipitation in the southwestern U.S.     

Holocene palaeohydrological changes in the northern Mediterranean borderlands as reflected by the lake-level record of Lake Ledro,northeastern Italy

A lake-level record of Lake Ledro (northern Italy) spans the entire Holocene with a chronology derived from 51 radiocarbon dates. It is based on a specific sedimentological approach that combines data from five sediment profiles sampled in distinct locations in the littoral zone. On a millennial scale, the lake-level record shows two successive periods from 11,700 to 4500 cal yr BP and from 4500 cal yr BP to the present, characterized by lower and higher average lake levels, respectively. In addition to key seasonal and inter-hemispherical changes in insolation, the major hydrological change around 4500 cal yr BP may be related to a non-linear response of the climate system to orbitally-driven gradual decrease in insolation. The Ledro record questions the notion of an accentuated summer rain regime in the northern Mediterranean borderlands during the boreal insolation maximum. Moreover, the Ledro record highlights that the Holocene was punctuated by successive centennial-scale highstands. Correlations with the Preboreal oscillation and the 8.2 ka event, and comparison with the atmospheric ¹⁴C residual record, suggest that short-lived lake-level fluctuations developed at Ledro in response to (1) final steps of the deglaciation in the North Atlantic area and (2) variations in solar activity.     

A chironomid-based reconstruction of late glacial summer temperatures in the southern Carpathians (Romania)

Late glacial and early Holocene summer temperatures were reconstructed based on fossil chironomid assemblages at Lake Brazi (Retezat Mountains) with a joint Norwegian–Swiss transfer function, providing an important addition to the late glacial quantitative climate reconstructions from Europe. The pattern of the late glacial temperature changes in Lake Brazi show both similarities and some differences from the NGRIP δ¹⁸O record and other European chironomid-based reconstructions. Our reconstruction indicates that at Lake Brazi (1740 m a.s.l.) summer air temperature increased by ~ 2.8°C at the Oldest Dryas/Bølling transition (GS-2/GI-1) and reached 8.1–8.7°C during the late glacial interstade. The onset of the Younger Dryas (GS-1) was characterized by a weak (< 1°C) decrease in chironomid-inferred temperatures. Similarly, at the GS-1/Holocene transition no major changes in summer temperature were recorded. In the early Holocene, summer temperature increased in two steps and reached ~ 12.0–13.3°C during the Preboreal. Two short-term cold events were detected during the early Holocene between 11,480–11,390 and 10,350–10,190 cal yr BP. The first cooling coincides with the Preboreal oscillation and shows a weak (0.7°C) temperature decrease, while the second is characterized by 1°C cooling. Both cold events coincide with cooling events in the Greenland ice core records and other European temperature reconstructions.     

Oxygen isotope composition of diatoms from sediments of Lake Kotokel (Buryatia)

This is a summary of new oxygen isotope record of diatoms from Lake Kotokel sediments, with implications for responses of the lake system and its environment to global change over the past 46 kyr. Fossil diatoms in all samples are free from visible contamination signatures and contain no more than 2.5% Al₂O3, which ensures reliable reconstructions. The 5¹⁸O values in diatoms vary between + 23.7 and + 31.2%c over the record. The results present mainly diatom assemblages of summer blooming periods, except for the time span between 36 and 32 kyr, when the isotopic signal records mainly a shift from summer to spring blooming conditions. Possible water temperature changes only partly explain the changes in the isotopic record. The observed isotopic patterns are produced mainly by isotope changes in lake water in response to variations in air temperature, hydrology, and atmospheric circulation in the region. During Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 2 (Last Glacial maximum), high 5¹⁸Od_iatom resulted from rapid evaporation and low fluvial inputs. The high 5¹⁸Od_iatom values of about + 29 to + 30%c during the first half of MIS 1 (Holocene interglacial) suggest an increased share of summer rainfalls associated with southern/southeastern air transport. The 5¹⁸Odi_atom decrease to + 24%c during the second half of MIS 1 is due to the overall hemispheric cooling and increased moisture supply to the area by the Atlantic air masses. The record of Lake Kotokel sediments provides an example of complex interplay among several climatic/environmental controls of 5¹⁸O_diatom during the Late Pleistocene and the Holocene.     

The Bonneville Estates Rockshelter rodent fauna and changes in Late Pleistocene–Middle Holocene climates and biogeography in the Northern Bonneville Basin,USA

Excavations at Bonneville Estates Rockshelter, Nevada recovered rodent remains from stratified deposits spanning the past ca. 12,500 ¹⁴C yr BP (14,800 cal yr BP). Specimens from horizons dating to the late Pleistocene and early Holocene include species adapted to montane and moist and cool habitats, including yellow-bellied marmot (Marmota flaviventris) and bushy-tailed woodrat (Neotoma cinerea). Shortly after 9000 ¹⁴C BP (10,200 cal yr BP) these mammals became locally extinct, or nearly so, taxonomic diversity declined, and the region became dominated by desert woodrats (Neotoma lepida) and other species well-adapted to xeric, low-elevation settings. The timing and nature of changes in the Bonneville Estates rodent fauna are similar to records reported from nearby Homestead and Camels Back caves and provide corroborative data on terminal Pleistocene–early Holocene environments and mammalian responses to middle Holocene desertification. Moreover, the presence of northern pocket gopher (Thomomys talpoides) at Bonneville Estates adds to a sparse regional record for that species and, similar to Homestead Cave, it appears that the ca. 9500 ¹⁴C yr BP (10,800 cal yr BP) replacement of the northern pocket gopher by Botta's pocket gopher in the Great Salt Lake Desert vicinity was also in response to climate change.     

Late Holocene moisture balance variability in the southwest Yukon Territory,Canada

Analyses of sediment cores from Marcella Lake, a small, hydrologically closed lake in the semi-arid southwest Yukon, provides effective moisture information for the last ∼4500 years at century-scale resolution. Water chemistry and oxygen isotope analyses from lakes and precipitation in the region indicate that Marcella Lake is currently enriched in ¹⁸O by summer evaporation. Past lake water values are inferred from oxygen isotope analyses of sedimentary endogenic carbonate in the form of algal Charophyte stem encrustations. A record of the δ¹⁸O composition of mean annual precipitation at Jellybean Lake, a nearby evaporation-insensitive system, provides data of simultaneous δ¹⁸O variations related to decade-to-century scale shifts in Aleutian Low intensity/position. The difference between the two isotope records, Δδ, represents ¹⁸O-enrichment in Marcella Lake water caused by summer effective moisture conditions. Results indicate increased effective moisture between ∼3000 and 1200 cal BP and two marked shifts toward increased aridity at ∼1200 and between 300 and 200 cal BP. These prominent late Holocene changes in effective moisture occurred simultaneously with changes in Aleutian Low circulation patterns over the Gulf of Alaska indicated by Jellybean Lake. The reconstructed climate patterns are consistent with the topographically controlled climatic heterogeneity observed in the coastal mountains and interior valleys of the region today.     

Holocene alluvial stratigraphy and response to climate change in the Roaring River valley,Front Range,Colorado, USA

Stratigraphic analyses and radiocarbon geochronology of alluvial deposits exposed along the Roaring River, Colorado, lead to three principal conclusions: (1) the opinion that stream channels in the higher parts of the Front Range are relics of the Pleistocene and nonalluvial under the present climate, as argued in a water-rights trial USA v. Colorado, is untenable, (2) beds of clast-supported gravel alternate in vertical succession with beds of fine-grained sediment (sand, mud, and peat) in response to centennial-scale changes in snowmelt-driven peak discharges, and (3) alluvial strata provide information about Holocene climate history that complements the history provided by cirque moraines, periglacial deposits, and paleontological data. Most alluvial strata are of late Holocene age and record, among other things, that: (1) the largest peak flows since the end of the Pleistocene occurred during the late Holocene; (2) the occurrence of a mid- to late Holocene interval (~ 2450–1630(?) cal yr BP) of warmer climate, which is not clearly identified in palynological records; and (3) the Little Ice Age climate seems to have had little impact on stream channels, except perhaps for minor (~ 1 m) incision.     

From Pleniglacial to Holocene: a 14C chronostratigraphy of environmental changes in the Konya Plain,Turkey

In the endoreic, semi-arid Konya basin on the central Anatolian plateaux, long-term hydrological evolution has left various landforms and lacustrine deposits reflecting the regional climatic evolution, as well as human influence on the local environments. This paper presents results from a cooperative programme grouping several institutes from Turkey and France, on lacustrine, marshy and aeolian sediment sequences of Upper Pleistocene and Holocene age. The detailed study of environmental evolution is based on the reconstruction as well as on the characterization of the extension and contraction phases of wetlands occupying the lowest parts of the Konya plain. A soil and a marsh layer are ¹⁴C dated ca. 28,000–25,000 yr bp. Three phases of Pleniglacial (from ca. 22,000 to 17,000 yr bp) high lake levels are distinguished. Complementary OSL dates on aeolian dunes confirm the occurrence of two drought periods: the first occurs around the start of the Late Glacial, the second after the Mid-Holocene climatic optimum, the latter being ‘in phase’ with a similar drought in other Eastern Mediterranean regions. After 17,000 yr bp, no lacustrine phase reached as high a level as the Pleniglacial lake. During the Late Glacial, a shallow freshwater lacustrine phase is identified from >12,500 to 11,000 yr bp. The Late Glacial to Holocene transition corresponds to a general absence of deposits and dateable material, thus suggesting a period of drought, to which no aeolian features have so far been related. The Holocene environmental evolution shows a period of marsh and shallow lake extansion from 6000 to 5500 yr bp; this wetter period is interrupted by the second drought (ca. 5500 yrs bp) as indicated by aeolian dune activity. During the Late Holocene, a renewal of marshes, as well as soil development on slopes, can be interpreted either as climatic changes or as impacts of human use of water and soil resources during prehistoric and historic times.     

Abrupt Holocene climate change and potential response to solar forcing in western Canada

Several abrupt climate events during the Holocene, including the widely documented oscillation at 8.2 thousand years before present (ka), are attributed to changes in the North Atlantic thermohaline circulation. Additional mechanisms, such as interactions between atmospheric circulation, ice-sheet dynamics, and the influence of solar irradiance, also have been proposed to explain abrupt climatic events, but evidence remains elusive. This study presents evidence from multi-proxy analyses on the Holocene sediments of Eleanor Lake, interior British Columbia. Climatic inferences from our decadal-resolution record of biogenic silica (BSi) abundance are supported by changes in diatom and pollen assemblages from the same core and correlations with existing regional climate records. The BSi record reveals abrupt and persistent climatic shifts at 10.2, 9.3, and 8.5 ka, the latter two of which are coeval with major collapses of the Laurentide Ice Sheet. The record also reveals a short-term cooling at 8.2 ka that is distinct from the 8.5 ka event and similar in magnitude to several other late-Holocene coolings. BSi is correlated with solar-irradiance indices (r = 0.43–0.61), but the correlation is opposite in sign to that expected from direct solar forcing and weakens after 8 ka. Possible mechanisms causing the abrupt and persistent climate changes of the early Holocene include 1) sudden losses of ice and proglacial lake extent, causing a shift in the meridional structure of atmospheric circulation, 2) a possible link between solar minima and El Niño-like conditions that are correlated with warm spring temperature in interior British Columbia, and 3) the influence of solar irradiance variability on the position of the polar jet, possibly via effects on the strength of the glacial anticyclone.     

The 8.2 ka event and Early–Mid Holocene forests,fires and flooding in the Central Ebro Desert,NE Spain

The impact of the 8.2 ka cooling event during the Early–Mid Holocene has not been widely observed in Southern Europe, which in contrast to Northern Europe, was already experiencing a cooler than present climate at this time. Multi-proxy analysis of sediment cores from two closed-basin saline lakes in the Central Ebro Desert (NE Spain) has allowed us to investigate the impact of climatic changes around the time of this event in more detail. Long-term changes in climate between the Early and Mid Holocene indicate a shift in winter to a more positive NAO, resulting in declining lake levels in one lake sensitive to winter groundwater recharge, and cooler winter temperatures reconstructed from pollen–climate analysis. Reconstructed summer temperatures also declined over this period while annual precipitation and forest cover increased, interpreted as a result of enhanced convection-driven summer precipitation association with a northward displacement of the sub-tropical high pressure. Around 8.2 ka, a marked increase in fire frequency is shown between ca 8.8 and 8.0 ka BP, along with an expansion of fire-tolerant evergreen oak and peak in water levels in a second storm run-off fed lake. A maximum in fire intensity occurred with the deposition of a charcoal layer at both lake sites dated to 8150±130 and 8285±135 cal BP, respectively. The increase in fire is largely attributed to a temporary return southward of the summer sub-tropical high pressure over the Mediterranean, which not only increased summer aridity, but also caused a contradictory regional warming before Hemispheric cooling set in.     

‘PALEOVAN’, International Continental Scientific Drilling Program (ICDP): site survey results and perspectives

Lake Van is the fourth largest terminal lake in the world (volume 607 km³, area 3570 km², maximum depth 460 m), extending for 130 km WSW–ENE on the Eastern Anatolian High Plateau, Turkey. The sedimentary record of Lake Van, partly laminated, has the potential to obtain a long and continuous continental sequence that covers several glacial–interglacial cycles (ca 500 kyr). Therefore, Lake Van is a key site within the International Continental Scientific Drilling Program (ICDP) for the investigation of the Quaternary climate evolution in the Near East (‘PALEOVAN’). As preparation for an ICDP drilling campaign, a site survey was carried out during the past years. We collected 50 seismic profiles with a total length of ～850 km to identify continuous undisturbed sedimentary sequences for potential ICDP locations. Based on the seismic results, we cored 10 different locations to water depths of up to 420 m. Multidisciplinary scientific work at positions of a proposed ICDP drill site included measurements of magnetic susceptibility, physical properties, stable isotopes, XRF scans, and pollen and spores. This core extends back to the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM), a more extended record than all the other Lake Van cores obtained to date. Both coring and seismic data do not show any indication that the deepest part of the lake (Tatvan Basin, Ahlat Ridge) was dry or almost dry during past times. These results show potential for obtaining a continuous undisturbed, long continental palaeoclimate record. In addition, this paper discusses the potential of ‘PALEOVAN’ to establish new results on the dynamics of lake level fluctuations, noble gas concentration in pore water of the lake sediment, history of volcanism and volcanic activities based on tephrostratigraphy, and paleoseismic and earthquake activities.     

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.