Multiproxy late Holocene peat records from Ireland: towards a regional palaeoclimate curve

Two new peat‐based climate records from Ireland covering the late Holocene are presented. The sequences are dated by a strong chronological framework formed by AMS radiocarbon dates and SCPs. Three proxy indicators (testate amoebae, macrofossils and humification) have been determined allowing the limitations and strengths of each to be identified and utilised to provide a bog surface wetness (BSW) record for both sites. Age–depth models take into account the potential for accumulation rates to vary with bog vegetation. The records from each site have been used to derive a combined BSW record that displays changes to a wetter/cooler climate from ca. AD 30 (1920 BP), ca. AD 310 (1640 BP), ca. AD 805 (1145 BP), ca. AD 1040 (910 BP) and ca. AD 1300 (650 BP). Changes follow closely those identified in a northern Britain composite BSW record and largely correspond with lake‐level data in central France suggesting the main changes in water balance were coherent over a large region. Correspondence with increases in IRD and slower Iceland‐Scotland Overflow Water (ISOW) suggests that these changes were related to oceanic forcing influencing the track of dominant westerly air flow over Ireland. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A speleothem record of Holocene climate variability from southwestern Mexico

A paleoclimate reconstruction for the Holocene based upon variations of δ¹⁸O in a U-Th dated stalagmite from southwestern Mexico is presented. Our results indicate that the arrival of moisture to the area has been strongly linked to the input of glacial meltwaters into the North Atlantic throughout the Holocene. The record also suggests a complex interplay between Caribbean and Pacific moisture sources, modulated by the North Atlantic SST and the position of the ITCZ, where Pacific moisture becomes increasingly more influential through ENSO since ~ 4.3 ka. The interruption of stalagmite growth during the largest climatic anomalies of the Holocene (10.3 and 8.2 ka) is evidenced by the presence of hiatuses, which suggest a severe disruption in the arrival of moisture to the area. The δ¹⁸O record presented here has important implications for understanding the evolution of the North American Monsoon and climate in southwestern Mexico, as it represents one of the most detailed archives of climate variability for the area spanning most of the Holocene.     

A Holocene tephra record from the Lofoten Islands, Arctic Norway

Pilcher, J., Bradley, R. S., Francus, P. & Anderson, L. 2005 (May): A Holocene tephra record from the Lofoten Islands, Arctic Norway. Boreas , Vol. 34, pp. 136–156. Oslo. ISSN 0300–9483.
A tephrochronology has been established for a peat bog in the Lofoten Islands that provides a dating framework for future lake and bog studies of climate variation in this climatically sensitive area. Twenty-three tephra layers were identified, all apparently of Icelandic origin. These included the historically dated tephras of AD 1875 (Askja), AD 1362 (Öraefajökull), AD 1158 (Hekla), AD 1104 (Hekla) and the Landnam tephra identified at AD 875 in the GRIP ice core. Other layers, previously radiocarbon dated in Ireland and elsewhere, include the Hekla eruptions of c. 2310 BC and c. 5990 BC. The basal clays below the peat contain tephra of both the Askja eruption of c. 9500 BC (10 000 radiocarbon years BP) and the well-known Vedde Ash of c. 12 000 BP (10 030 80 BC in GRIP ice core).     

A Holocene vegetation record from the Mississippi River Valley, southeastern Missouri

Pollen preserved in a peat deposit from a large swamp, the Old Field in the Mississippi River Valley near Advance, Missouri, records radiocarbon-dated vegetation changes between 9000 and about 3000 years ago. The principal feature of both the percentage and influx pollen diagrams is the replacement of arboreal pollen, primarily Quercus, Fraxinus, and Cephalanthus, with Gramineae and NAP between 8700 and 5000 years BP. This vegetation shift is interpreted as reflecting a decrease in the extent of the Old Field swamp and its associated bottomland forest species along with the expansion of a grass-dominated herb community, as a result of a reduction in available ground water. The desiccation of the swamp during this period indicates a reduction in precipitation within the ground-water source area and a shift to a drier climate in the southern Midwest. The pollen suggests that the lowest water levels and driest climate in southeastern Missouri lasted from 8700 to 6500 years BP, at which time there is a partial reappearance of swamp species. Relatively dry conditions, however, continued until at least 5000 years BP. Although pollen influx data are lacking from the upper part of the profile, the relative pollen frequencies suggest an increase in trees after 5000 BP. The replacement of the arboreal vegetation by grasses and herbs between 8700 and 5000 years BP reflects the period of maximum expansion of the Prairie Peninsula in southeastern Missouri. The Old Field swamp provides the first pollen evidence that the vegetational changes along the southern border of the Prairie Peninsula were chronologically similar to those on the northern and northeastern margins.     

A high‐resolution Lateglacial and Holocene palaeoceanographic record from the Greenland Sea

We present an unprecedented multicentennial sediment record from the foot of Vesterisbanken Seamount, central Greenland Sea, covering the past 22.3 thousand years (ka). Based on planktic foraminiferal total abundances, species assemblages, and stable oxygen and carbon isotopes, the palaeoenvironments in this region of modern deepwater renewal were reconstructed. Results show that during the Last Glacial Maximum the area was affected by harsh polar conditions with only episodic improvements during warm summer seasons. Since 18 ka extreme freshwater discharges from nearby sources occurred, influencing the surface water environment. The last major freshwater event took place during the Younger Dryas. The onset of the Holocene was characterized by an improvement of environmental conditions suggesting warming and increasing ventilation of the upper water layers. The early Holocene saw a stronger Atlantic waters advection to the area, which began around 10.5 and ended quite rapidly at 5.5 ka, followed by the onset of Neoglacial cooling. Surface water ventilation reached a maximum in the middle Holocene. Around 3 ka the surface water stratification increased leading to subsequent amplification of the warming induced the North Atlantic Oscillation at 2 ka.     

A late Holocene record of arid events from the Cuzco region,Peru

The small recently infilled lake basin of Marcacocha (13°13′S, 72°12′W, 3355 m) in the Cuzco region of Peru has a morphology and location that renders it extremely sensitive to environmental change. A record of vegetation, human impact and climatic change during the past 4200 yr has been obtained from a highly organic core taken from the centre of the basin. Sustained arid episodes that affected the Peruvian Andes may be detectable using the proxy indicator of sedge (Cyperaceae) pollen abundances. As the lake‐level was lowered during sustained drier conditions, the local catchment was colonised by Cyperaceae, whereas during lake floods, they retreated or were submerged and pollen production was correspondingly reduced. Drier episodes during prehistoric times occurred around 900 bc , 500 bc , ad 100 and ad 550, with a longer dry episode occurring from ad 900 to 1800. Evidence from the independently derived Quelccaya ice‐core record and the archaeological chronology for the Cuzco region appears to support the climatic inferences derived from the sedge data. Many of these aridity episodes appear to correspond with important cultural changes in the Cuzco region and elsewhere in the Central Andes. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A record of Holocene climate change from lake geochemical analyses in southeastern Arabia

Lacustrine sediments from southeastern Arabia reveal variations in lake level corresponding to changes in the strength and duration of Indian Ocean Monsoon (IOM) summer rainfall and winter cyclonic rainfall. The late glacial/Holocene transition of the region was characterised by the development of mega-linear dunes. These dunes became stabilised and vegetated during the early Holocene and interdunal lakes formed in response to the incursion of the IOM at approximately 8500 cal yr BP with the development of C3 dominated savanna grasslands. The IOM weakened ca. 6000 cal yr BP with the onset of regional aridity, aeolian sedimentation and dune reactivation and accretion. Despite this reduction in precipitation, the lake was maintained by winter dominated rainfall. There was a shift to drier adapted C4 grasslands across the dune field. Lake sediment geochemical analyses record precipitation minima at 8200, 5000 and 4200 cal yr BP that coincide with Bond events in the North Atlantic. A number of these events correspond with changes in cultural periods, suggesting that climate was a key mechanism affecting human occupation and exploitation of this region.     

A high resolution late Holocene palaeo environmental record from the central Adriatic Sea

A multi-proxy study of a Holocene sediment core (RF 93-30) from the western flank of the central Adriatic, in 77 m of water, reveals a sequence of changes in terrestrial vegetation, terrigenous sediment input and benthic fauna, as well as evidence for variations in sea surface temperature spanning most of the last 7000 yr. The chronology of sedimentation is based on several lines of evidence, including AMS ¹⁴C dates of foraminifera extracted from the core, palaeomagnetic secular variation, pollen indicators and dated tephra. The temporal resolution increases towards the surface and, for some of the properties measured, is sub-decadal for the last few centuries.The main changes recorded in vegetation, sedimentation and benthic foraminiferal assemblages appear to be directly related to human activity in the sediment source area, which includes the Po valley and the eastern flanks of the central and northern Appenines. The most striking episodes of deforestation and expanding human impact begin around 3600 BP (Late Bronze Age) and 700 BP (Medieval) and each leads to an acceleration in mass sedimentation and an increase in the proportion of terrigenous material, reflecting the response of surface processes to widespread forest clearance and cultivation. Although human impact appears to be the proximal cause of these changes, climatic effects may also have been important. During these periods, signs of stress are detectable in the benthic foram morphotype assemblages. Between these two periods of increased terrigeneous sedimentation there is smaller peak in sedimentation rate around 2400BP which is not associated with evidence for deforestation, shifts in the balance between terrigenous and authigenic sedimentation, or changes in benthic foraminifera.The mineral magnetic record provides a sensitive indicator of changing sediment sources: during forested periods of reduced terrigenous input it is dominated by authigenic bacterial magnetite, whereas during periods of increased erosion, anti-ferromagetic minerals (haematite and/or goethite) become more important, as well as both paramagnetic minerals and super-paramagnetic magnetite. Analysis of the alkenone, U₃₇^k′, record provides an indication of possible changes in sea surface temperature during the period, but it is premature to place too much reliance on these inferred changes until the indirect effects of past changes in the depth of the halocline and in circulation have been more fully evaluated.The combination of methods used and the results obtained illustrate the potential value of such high resolution near-shore marine sedimentary sequences for recording wide-scale human impact, documenting the effects of this on marine sedimentation and fauna and, potentially, disentangling evidence for human activities from that for past changes in climate.     

Isotopic climate record in a Holocene stalagmite from Ursilor Cave (Romania)

The PU‐2 stalagmite from Ursilor Cave provides the first dated Romanian isotope record for the Holocene. The overall growth rate of the speleothem was 3.5 cm kyr^?1, corresponding to a temporal resolution of 142 y between each isotope analysis. The ‘Hendy’ tests indicate that isotopic equilibrium conditions occurred during the formation of PU‐2, and hence that it is suitable for palaeoclimatic studies. The relationship between δ¹⁸O and temperature was found to be positive. This can be interpreted either as rain‐out with distance from the west‐northwest ocean source of evaporation or shifts in air mass source with changing North Atlantic Oscillation indices. Applying five U–Th thermal ionisation mass spectrometric (TIMS) dates to a 17.5 cm isotope profile (δ¹⁸O and δ¹³C) along the stalagmite growth axis enabled a tentative interpretation of the palaeoclimate signal over the past 7.1 kyr. Spikes of depleted isotopic δ¹⁸O values are centred near ca. 7, ca. 5.2 and ca. 4 ka, reflecting cool conditions. The record shows two warm intervals between ca. 3.8 and ca. 3.2 ka (the maximum warmth) and from ca. 2 to ca. 1.4 ka, when the δ¹⁸O values were less negative than present. The ‘Holocene Climate Optimum’ spanning the time interval from ca. 6.8 to ca. 4.4 ka is not well expressed in the PU‐2 stalagmite. Individual spikes of lighter δ¹³C are interpreted as indicative of periods of heavy rainfall, at ca. 7, ca. 5.5, and ca. 3.5 ka. The overall trend to lighter δ¹³C in the PU‐2 stalagmite may reflect a gradual decrease in water–rock interaction. The results demonstrate that the effect of North Atlantic oceanic changes extended to the investigated area. Nevertheless, some differences in temporal correlation and intensity of stable isotopic response to these climatic events have been found, but the exact nature of these differences and the underlying mechanism is yet to be determined. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A Holocene pollen record recovered from a guano deposit: Round Spring Cavern,Missouri, USA

Batina, M. C. & Reese, C. A. 2010: A Holocene pollen record recovered from a guano deposit: Round Spring Cavern, Missouri, USA. Boreas, 10.1111/j.1502‐3885.2010.00186.x. ISSN 0300‐9483. Bat guano deposits have been the subject of relatively few palynological studies. The studies to date have focused on the most modern samples only, and therefore the full potential of bat guano as an archive for fossil pollen analysis remains unknown. In this paper we report the results of pollen analysis on an 88‐cm vertical profile of fossil bat guano from Round Spring Cavern, Missouri. Four AMS radiocarbon dates were in sequence and showed that the guano pile was active between 8155 and approximately 550 cal. yr BP. Pollen is well preserved throughout the profile, with most samples containing less than 10% indeterminable pollen. Wind‐pollinated taxa are better represented than insect‐pollinated taxa, and pollen concentrations range from 842 to 371 660 grains cm^?3. As expected, the dominant vegetation types represented by the pollen assemblage are oak and pine, in accordance with the region's oak–hickory–pine forest. However, there are discrepancies between the guano pollen record and the results of a lake pollen study conducted in southern Missouri. We propose several possible factors that may be influencing the guano pollen record and provide direction for further investigation into the palaeoecological potential of bat guano.     

A Holocene pollen record of persistent droughts from Pyramid Lake, Nevada, USA

Pollen and algae microfossils preserved in sediments from Pyramid Lake, Nevada, provide evidence for periods of persistent drought during the Holocene age. We analyzed one hundred nineteen 1-cm-thick samples for pollen and algae from a set of cores that span the past 7630 years. The early middle Holocene, 7600 to 6300 cal yr B.P., was found to be the driest period, although it included one short but intense wet phase. We suggest that Lake Tahoe was below its rim for most of this period, greatly reducing the volume and depth of Pyramid Lake. Middle Holocene aridity eased between 5000 and 3500 cal yr B.P. and climate became variable with distinct wet and dry phases. Lake Tahoe probably spilled intermittently during this time. No core was recovered that represented the period between 3500 and 2600 cal yr B.P. The past 2500 years appear to have had recurrent persistent droughts. The timing and magnitude of droughts identified in the pollen record compares favorably with previously published δ¹⁸O data from Pyramid Lake. The timing of these droughts also agrees with the ages of submerged rooted stumps in the Eastern Sierra Nevada and woodrat midden data from central Nevada. Prolonged drought episodes appear to correspond with the timing of ice drift minima (solar maxima) identified from North Atlantic marine sediments, suggesting that changes in solar irradiance may be a possible mechanism influencing century-scale drought in the western Great Basin.     

A proxy record of late Holocene climate change from May Moss,northeast England

Quantitative reconstruction of changes in mire surface wetness has been used to reconstruct proxy climate from an upland ombrotrophic blanket mire on the North York Moors in northeast England (May Moss). Testate amoebae, plant macrofossil and humification analyses were carried out for six peat profiles. Transfer functions are used to generate estimates of water table levels from the testate amoebae stratigraphy, which complement the semi‐quantitative indications of changing surface wetness provided by plant macrofossil and humification analysis. ¹⁴C dates provide the chronology for the stratigraphy. Differences were encountered between AMS ¹⁴C dates on pure Sphagnum remains and radiometric dates on bulk peat from the same horizon, which perhaps arise from the heterogeneity of peat. Replicate palaeoecological analysis of adjacent cores identifies consistency within testate amoebae and plant macrofossil stratigraphies, and reveals a strong agreement between the water table level proxies. The record of hydrological changes at sites across May Moss are in synchrony, and so climate change is the most likely cause of the moisture fluctuations. Changes to a wetter or cooler climate were identified cal. ad 260–540, ca. ad 550–650, cal. ad 670–980, ca. ad 1350–1450, cal. ad 1400–1620 and ca. ad 1700–1800. Periods with a drier or warmer climate precede all of these wet shifts, with particularly dry periods between cal. ad 650–860 and 690–980 and between cal. ad 1290–1410 and 1400–1620. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A record of Lateglacial and early Holocene environmental and ecological change from southwestern Connecticut,USA

Analyses of a sediment core from Highstead Swamp in southwestern Connecticut, USA, reveal Lateglacial and early Holocene ecological and hydrological changes. Lateglacial pollen assemblages are dominated by Picea and Pinus subg. Pinus, and the onset of the Younger Dryas (YD) cold interval is evidenced by higher abundance of Abies and Alnus viridis subsp. crispa. As climate warmed at the end of the YD, Picea and Abies declined and Pinus strobus became the dominant upland tree species. A shift from lacustrine sediment to organic peat at the YD–Holocene boundary suggests that the lake that existed in the basin during the Lateglacial interval developed into a swamp in response to reduced effective moisture. A change in wetland vegetation from Myrica gale to Alnus incana subsp. rugosa and Sphagnum is consistent with this interpretation of environmental changes at the beginning of the Holocene. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Holocene chronostratigraphy of northeastern Baffin Bay based on radiocarbon and palaeomagnetic data

The northeastern Baffin Bay continental margin, which experiences high sediment accumulation rates, is an excellent location to study Holocene sedimentary variations. However, it is often difficult to obtain reliable chronologies of the sediment archives using traditional methods (δ¹⁸O and radiocarbon) due to specific oceanographic conditions (e.g. corrosive bottom waters). Here we propose a chronostratigraphy of three cores collected on the northwestern Greenland margin (AMD14‐204, AMD14‐210 and AMD14‐Kane2B) based on a combination of radiocarbon dating and palaeomagnetic records. Geophysical properties of discrete samples were used to verify the reliability of the palaeomagnetic records. Palaeomagnetic analyses indicate a strong and stable natural remanent magnetization carried by low coercivity ferrimagnetic minerals (magnetite) in the pseudo‐single domain grain size range. Correlation of the full palaeomagnetic vector (inclination, declination, and relative palaeointensity) was used to establish a reliable chronostratigraphical framework for two of the cores (AMD14‐204 and AMD14‐210) and to propose an original palaeomagnetic record for the previously ¹⁴C‐dated core AMD14‐Kane2B that covers most of the Holocene. Overall, this new chronostratigraphy allowed improvement of the timing of the main palaeoenvironmental changes that occurred in this area during the Holocene.     

A high-resolution Holocene diatom record on the North Icelandic shelf

A high-resolution diatom record from core MD99-2275 reveals a series of palaeoceanographic changes on the North Icelandic shelf since about 9000 cal. yr BP. The influence of relatively warm high-salinity Atlantic water-masses of the IC was strong in the study area during the Holocene Climate Optimum (8760 (base of record) to c . 5300 cal. yr BP) and peaked between c . 8000 and 7000 cal. yr BP. There is a general cooling trend from c . 7000 cal. yr BP to the present, which is indicated by an increase in the influence of cold Polar water-masses from the EGC and the EIC and a decrease in the influence of the IC. A major change in diatom assemblages at around 5300 cal. yr BP indicates a palaeoceanographic shift on the North Icelandic shelf in the mid-Holocene. In addition, several abrupt palaeoceanographic changes are distinguished. Enhanced influence of Polar waters is reflected during the intervals 8120–8000, 6650–6100, 4300–4100, 3000–2700, 1300–1100 and 600–200 cal. yr BP. The palaeoceanographic indication of the diatom record of core MD99-2275 is consistent with the indication of other environmental parameters from the same core, such as benthic and planktonic foraminifera as well as magnetic properties, and the results are also consistent with palaeoclimatic records from adjacent areas around Iceland and in the North Atlantic region.     

A 10,700 years' paleotemperature record from Gotland and Pleistocene/Holocene boundary events in Sweden.

Lacustrine carbonate (Chara lime) from the Island of Gotland provides an excellent paleotemperature record for the last 10,700 years. From arctic conditions during the Younger Dryas Stadial, the temperature rapidly rose to the present level, which was reached at about 9000–9250 B.P. A Holocene climatic optimum is clearly recorded. It ended with a drastic deterioration at about 2500 B.P. at the Subboreal/Subatlantic transition. The Subatlantic temperatures are significantly lower than those of the climatic optimum. The Holocene of Sweden seems to have started with a tremendous earthquake linked to extensive faulting (explaining the inconsistencies in the sea level records and the 'drainage of the Baltic Ice Lake'), a distinct peak in the non-dipole geomagnetic field (explaining the intensity peak at this level in cores from different environments) and regional disturbancies of the sedimentation (explaining the 'drainage varve' character of varve - 1073 in the Swedish Time Scale).     

A continuous record of Holocene eolian activity in West Greenland

Eolian landforms are widespread alongside proglacial valley-sandurs in West Greenland and comprise low-relief sand sheets, climbing dunes, and upland loess. Sedimentary facies mainly reflect distance to outwash-source zones and the influence of vegetation cover. The sediments show stratification types typical for poorly to moderately vegetated sand-sheets, alternately laminated silt/peat sequences, and unstratified loess. Twenty-five accelerator mass spectrometry ¹⁴C dates provide the basis for the chronostratigraphy of the inland eolian deposits. ¹⁴C dates from interstratified sand-sheets suggest that the bulk of eolian sands were deposited prior to 3400 cal yr B.P. and after 550 cal yr B.P. This two-phase formation for the inland dunes most likely reflects local changes in proglacial floodplain development and meltwater rerouting associated with a significant recession of the Greenland ice sheet during the mid Holocene climate optimum. Subsequent floodplain regeneration and renewed sand-sheet formation after 550 cal yr B.P. followed when the ice margin readvanced to its present position. In contrast, atmospheric deposition of regionally derived silt in upland peat mires has been continuous since at least 4750 cal yr B.P. Silt influx data demonstrate a strongly episodic history of the intensity of eolian activity over the past five millennia, which tentatively reflects alternating periods of (winter) aridity associated with the variable incursion of maritime air masses over the interior ice-free areas of West Greenland.     

Biogeochemistry and paleoclimate variability during the Holocene: a record from Mansar Lake,Lesser Himalaya

Investigation of biogeochemistry and amino acids on a 30-m-long core from Mansar Lake has thrown light on palaeoclimate variability during the Holocene period. The C/N ratio between 6 and 10 with some deviations and δ13C mostly between −20 and −22‰ in the shallow core, as well as a C/N ratio greater than 13 reaching from 19 to 20 and correspondingly lower δ13C of –28‰ in the deeper core suggest an aquatic source of carbon in the former and a cellulose-rich land plant source in the latter. This is supported by the abrupt increase in organic carbon content in the deeper core compared to the shallow core, which indicates a hot and wet climatic regime during the early Holocene and dry and cold during the late Holocene period. The amino acid data AA-C/C% and AA-N/N% are higher in shallow sediments compared to deeper sediments, indicating an aquatic plant source in the shallow core and greater supply of land plant sources in the deeper core. The lower percentage of the non-protein amino acids β-alanine (ALA) and γ-amino-butyric acid in the shallow core compared to the deeper core indicates different sources of organic matter in the lake basin. The higher amino acid ratio Asp/β-Ala (16.99 av.) and Glu/γ-Aba (18.18 av.) in the shallow core and lower ratios (10.32 and 12.41 av.) in the deeper core, and Asp/Glu (1.52 av.) and β-Ala/γ-Aba (1.61 av.) ratios in the former, which are potential indicators of the nature of the organic matter, are higher in the shallow core relative to the deeper core (1.33 and 1.23 av.), indicating relative biodegradation of organic matter in deeper sediments. It has been observed that the organic matter associated with the dry season is relatively less biodegraded, as evidenced from their higher ratios, and is more biodegraded in the wet season as their ratios are lower in the river sediments. In the absence of a bacterial contribution of organic matter from the soil source in this lake, since Mansar Lake is a non-drainage type, it is envisaged that the climatic variation may be responsible for biodegradation in the deeper core sediments. Therefore, the C/N ratio and δ13C values supported by amino acid data, the latter being significant in revealing primary productivity and a terrestrial source of organic matter, suggest a hot and wet climatic regime during the early Holocene (ca. 7580 bp) and a dry and cold in the late Holocene period (ca. 4050 bp).     

A Holocene dust record in arid central Asia inferred from Lake Barkol,northwest China

Grain-size distributions and detrital minerals were investigated for modern dust and for lacustrine sediment in Lake Barkol region, northwest China. Characteristics of the modern dust and lacustrine sediments, principle component analysis, and changes of quartz contents all suggest grain size 45–138 μm in the core sediment is the dust sensitive component. It indicates that high dust flux climate occurred at mid-Holocene (5.5–4.5 cal ka BP), corresponding to the high dust flux record in northwest Pacific and the drought interval of deserts in northwest China during the mid-Holocene. The strong dust activity is in contradiction with the climatic optimum recorded by the lacustrine evidence in Xinjiang. Different responses of the dust source region and watershed to the regional climate may have led to the inconsistency between dust and climate records during the mid-Holocene in arid central Asia.