Common temperature signal in four well‐replicated tree growth series from northern Fennoscandia

Four Nordic temperature proxies based on tree growth at the northern timberline – ring‐width from Sweden and Finland, maximum latewood density from Sweden, and height increment from Finland – were compared. Three indexing methods were used to enhance the low (centennial and above), medium (decadal‐to‐multidecadal) and high (decadal‐to‐interannual) frequencies. The proxies are shown to have a strong temperature signal (common variance) at the interannual‐to‐multidecadal scale, while the multidecadal‐to‐centennial trends are less coherent, perhaps reflecting intra‐regional differences in growing conditions but more likely due to the more noisy regional curve standardization method used to retain the longest trends. Various methods of combining the four proxy series were explored and tested by comparison with four long temperature records from northern Fennoscandia. Only relatively high‐frequency, spline‐indexed series produced consistently positive verification statistics as a reconstruction model for summer temperature using all four proxies. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Dating of snow avalanches by means of wound‐induced vessel anomalies in sub‐arctic Betula pubescens

Dendrogeomorphic research has long relied on scarred trees to reconstruct the frequency of mass‐movement processes. Injuries have mostly been dated macroscopically by counting the tree rings formed after wounding. Tree‐ring anatomical anomalies induced by cambial injury, in contrast, have only recently been recognized as proxy records of past events. We investigated 12 sub‐arctic downy birch (Betula pubescens Ehrh.) trees scarred by snow avalanches in Norway and Iceland. Earlywood vessel lumina were measured for each tree in the xylem tissue bordering the scars. Seven successive rings were examined, namely two control rings laid down prior to wounding and five rings in the wound xylem. We provide evidence that snow‐avalanche‐induced wounding resulted in atypically narrow earlywood vessels over at least two years. Our data demonstrate that wound‐associated vessel anomalies represent tangible markers of mass‐movement processes, and as such make a viable tool for reconstructing past events. Similar dendrogeomorphic studies based on tree‐ring anatomy can be readily conducted with other mass‐movement processes, as well as with other broad‐leaved tree species. Ultimately, this new approach will foster increment coring over more invasive sampling techniques.     

Late Holocene climatic variability reconstructed from incremental data from pines and pearl mussels – a multi‐proxy comparison of air and subsurface temperatures

Helama, S., Läänelaid, A., Tietäväinen, H., Macias Fauria, M., Kukkonen, I. T., Holopainen, J., Nielsen, J. K. & Valovirta, I. 2010: Late Holocene climatic variability reconstructed from incremental data from pines and pearl mussels – a multi‐proxy comparison of air and subsurface temperatures. Boreas, Vol. 39, pp. 734–748. 10.1111/j.1502‐3885.2010.00165.x. ISSN 0300‐9483. Dendrochronological and sclerochronological records are mean series of arboreal and molluscan increments that are correctly aligned in time by rigorous dating. These records of tree rings and annual shell‐growth increments exhibit climate signals that can be used to reconstruct fluctuations and trends in past climates. Here we present a multi‐proxy reconstruction of temperature histories using a combination of dendrochronological and sclerochronological evidence. Regional curve standardization (RCS) was used to remove the non‐climatic variations from dendrochronological and sclerochronological series prior to palaeoclimatic interpretation. Conventional and signal‐free methods of RCS were compared. It was found that the signal‐free methods produced more reliable chronologies and systematically higher climate–proxy correlations. Consequently, the temperature reconstructions were derived using the chronologies constructed by this method. Proxy‐based histories of summer (July–August) temperatures were reconstructed from AD 1767 onwards. The compound use of proxies resulted in reconstructions that were of higher quality than single‐proxy reconstructions. Further improvement of reconstructions was accomplished by the inclusion of lagging increment values in the transfer functions. The final multi‐proxy model explained 58% of the temperature variance over the instrumental period. The multi‐proxy temperature reconstruction correlated well with the long records of instrumental temperatures from Tornedalen, St. Petersburg, Uppsala and Stockholm. Overall, the reconstruction for the past 250 years agreed reasonably well with borehole temperature reconstructions obtained in northern Finland. In general, this study demonstrates the benefits of the compound use of several proxies in reconstructing climate histories. In particular, the study emphasizes the so far largely unexploited advantages of multi‐proxy data sets obtained by rigorously cross‐dated incremental chronologies to produce more robust palaeoclimatic reconstructions.     

Long‐term spruce budworm outbreak dynamics reconstructed from subfossil trees

We reconstructed the long‐term spruce budworm (SBW) (Choristoneura fumiferana Clem.) outbreak dynamics in the boreal forest of Quebec (Canada) using a dendrochronological approach with subfossil trees. Although the majority of the excavated wood belonging to the genus Picea could potentially reveal the past activity of spruce budworms in the tree rings, very few were cross‐dated due to a lack of marker rings. All cross‐dated trees were found within a particular zone of the peat bogs and the floating chronology was radiocarbon dated to ca. 5.1 cal ka BP. The results presented in this study suggest that the dynamics of SBW outbreaks in the studied area fluctuated during the last millennia and that severe outbreaks as observed during the 20th century seldom occurred in that part of the boreal forest since the end of the last glaciation. These results are in agreement with observations from other parts of eastern North America. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A 1286‐year hydro‐climate reconstruction for the Balkan Peninsula

We present a June–July drought reconstruction based on the standardized precipitation index (SPI) for the Balkan Peninsula over the period 730–2015 CE. The reconstruction is developed using a composite Pinus heldreichii tree‐ring width chronology, from a high‐elevation network of eight sites in the Pindus Mountains in northwest Greece, composed of living trees and relict wood. The dataset includes the ring width series of Europe's currently oldest known living tree, dendrochronologically dated to be more than 1075 years old. The spatial coverage of the reconstruction is improved by using an averaged gridded SPI data target derived from a response field that is located north of the study region. Justification for this approach includes the remoteness of instrumental data, the spatial variability of precipitation and synoptic scale circulation patterns. Over the past 1286 years, there have been 51 dry and 43 pluvial events. The driest year during the 1286‐year‐long period was 1660 and the wettest year was 1482. Comparison with shorter reconstructions and documentary evidence validates the new reconstruction, and provides additional insight into socioeconomic impacts and spatial patterns of extreme events. Fifty‐nine of 72 previously undescribed extremes occurred prior to the 17th century. The new reconstruction reveals long‐term changes in the number of extremes, including substantially fewer drought and pluvial events in the 20th century. Additional tests on the long‐term effects of age structure, replication and covariance changes support the heteroscedastic nature of the reconstructed hydro‐climatic extremes.     

An 810‐year history of cold season temperature variability for northern Poland

Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) is a widely used tree species in European dendroclimatology studies due to its common distribution across much of the continent. Almost all studies find radial growth strongly related to summer temperature, a result reflecting site selection at high elevation/latitude environments where trees grow at their ecophysiological limits. Due to the amount of attention spent on these sites there is a geographical and seasonal bias in temperature reconstructions based upon tree‐ring proxies in Europe. To overcome the limited availability of tree‐ring data in temperate lowlands, we present a northern Poland ring‐width chronology developed from living and historic Scots pine material with a strong common growth signal going back to AD 1200. Investigations into climate‐growth relationships found year‐to‐year ring‐width variability to be more strongly correlated to cold season temperature (November to April) prior to the growing season than summer temperatures during tree‐ring formation. Based on this relationship it was possible to reconstruct cold season temperature conditions for the last 810 years. Spatial field correlations with gridded instrumental records indicated that the reconstruction provides relevant cold season temperature information across the land regions bordering the North Atlantic Ocean and Baltic Sea, lowlands and uplands of western and central Europe, and the eastern and central interior of Russia. Despite an unsuccessful attempt to find a stationary relationship with the North Atlantic Oscillation, comparisons with several cold season temperature reconstructions confirmed the long‐term connection between our reconstructed temperature series for northern Poland and the wider area.     

A major widespread climatic change around 5300 cal. yr BP at the time of the Alpine Iceman

Palaeoenvironmental and archaeological data from Arbon Bleiche, Lake Constance (Switzerland) give evidence of a rapid rise in lake‐level dated by tree‐ring and radiocarbon to 5320 cal. yr BP. This rise event was the latest in a series of three successive episodes of higher lake‐level between 5550 and 5300 cal. yr BP coinciding with glacier advance and tree‐limit decline in the Alps. This west‐central European climate change may have favoured the quick burial and the preservation of the Alpine Iceman recently found in the Tyrolean Alps. It has possible equivalents in many records from various regions in both hemispheres dating to 5600–5000 cal. yr BP and corresponds to global cooling and contrasting patterns of hydrological changes. This major mid‐Holocene climate event marks the Hypsithermal/Neoglaciation transition possibly resulting from a combination of different factors including orbital forcing, changes in ocean circulation and variations in solar activity. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

漠河樟子松树轮指数与标准化植被指数的关系研究

利用我国寒温带针叶林的樟子松树轮数据和多年NDVI数据,运用树轮指数生成程序ARSTAN得到最大密度、晚材密度等7种树轮指数的标准化序列。首先分析了森林NDVI的逐月和逐年变化特征,然后分析了各种树轮指数与森林NDVI的关系。结果表明,漠河森林NDVI月变化和年变化主要受温度影响,属于温度驱动型;最大密度指数与NDVI年均值间有较强的相关关系;生长季（5～9月）NDVI与当年树轮的最大密度、晚材密度、早材密度和晚材宽度指数相关,但与最小密度、树轮宽度、早材宽度指数关系不显著;夏季（6～8月）NDVI与早材密度指数显著相关,但早材宽度指数却与前一年夏季NDVI有关。就单月NDVI而言,5月份的NDVI与最大密度和晚材密度指数显著相关,而6月份的NDVI与早材密度指数显著相关。从7种树轮指数对区域尺度上的生长季NDVI的指示效果来看,密度指数比宽度指数更有效。     

Pollen‐inferred palaeoclimate reconstructions in mountain areas: problems and perspectives

Transfer functions are an efficient tool for the quantitative reconstruction of past climate from low to mid‐elevation pollen sites. However, the application of existing methods to high‐altitude pollen assemblages frequently leads to unrealistic results. In the aim of understanding the causes of these biases, the standard ‘best modern analogue’ method has been applied to two high‐altitude pollen sequences to provide quantitative climate estimates for the Lateglacial and Holocene periods. Both pollen sequences (Laghi dell'Orgials, 2130 m, SW aspect and Lago delle Fate, 2240 m, E aspect) are located in the subalpine belt, on opposing sides of the St. Anna di Vinadio Valley (Italian Maritime Alps). Different results were obtained from the two sequences. The largest differences occurred in palaeotemperature reconstruction, with notable differences in both the values and trends at each site. These biases may be attributed to: (1) a lack of high elevation ‘best modern analogues’ in the database of modern samples; (2) the problem of pollen taxa that have multiple climatic significance; (3) problems related to the complexity of mountainous ecosystems, such as the phenomenon of uphill transport of tree pollen by wind. Possible improvements to the reconstruction process are discussed. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Development of a Neolithic pine tree‐ring chronology for northern Scotland

The peatlands of northern Scotland (one of the largest and most intact areas of blanket bog in the world) contain a rare widespread horizon of subfossil pine in stratigraphic context. Eighteen bog pine from three new sites are incorporated into a mean Neolithic pine chronology now composed of subfossil pine from 12 sites, which is tree‐ring‐dated against Irish bog pine chronologies to span 3198–2757 BC. Germination and peaks of radial growth infer drier conditions between 3199 and 3130 BC. Dying‐off phases and depression of growth reflect a change to wetter conditions between 3023 and 3002 BC and a terminal decline of pine between 2809 and 2782 BC. The close synchronization of germination/die‐off phases and major ring‐width variations between sites across this region indicates that the environmental changes are probably triggered by climate change. Twenty‐four bog pine samples remain unmatched. Future multi‐discipline research into this important example of climatic change at the Neolithic/Bronze Age transition is recommended. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Up to 400‐year‐old Rhododendron shrubs on the southeastern Tibetan Plateau: prospects for shrub‐based dendrochronology

In harsh and treeless environments, shrubs constitute the dominant growth form of woody plants, thus offering the opportunity to extend dendrochronological networks beyond the uppermost and northernmost distribution limits of trees. However, shrub‐based dendrochronology has so far resulted in only a few long and climate‐responsive ring‐width chronologies at such stressful sites, particularly above the alpine tree line. A previous study on an alpine Rhododendron shrub species resulted in <80‐year‐long ring‐width chronologies. Here, we collected Rhododendron aganniphum var. schizopeplum stems from elevations between 4000 and 4500 m a.s.l. on the SE Tibetan Plateau and built six tree‐ring width chronologies. One of them is 401 years long and well replicated from AD 1670 to 2011 (EPS>0.85), thus representing the longest shrub chronology available to date. A principal component analysis (PCA) converted the total variability of all six site chronologies into PCs. Then, the six site chronologies and the PC1, accounting for 65.9% of the total variance of the tree‐ring width, were correlated with time series of monthly climate data. Based on this, the year‐to‐year variability of the ring‐width indices was positively correlated with July temperature, which thus turned out to be the dominant factor controlling growth. Accordingly, such long shrub‐ring chronologies may act as climatic and ecological proxies in treeless environments of the Tibetan Plateau.     

Long‐term pockmark maintenance by fluid seepage and subsurface sediment mobilization – sedimentological investigations in Lake Neuchâtel

Pockmarks and mud volcanoes from marine and lacustrine environments are thought to be the surface expression of focused fluid flow (gas and/or water). However, the control fluid flow exerts on the sediment dynamics and rates of activity of such features, especially the maintenance and growth of pockmarks, is not well understood. This study suggests that variable fluid flow is the driving process that has maintained two lacustrine pockmarks over thousands of years. In Lake Neuchâtel (western Switzerland), the currently active Chez‐le‐Bart Pockmark (diameter ca 160 m, depth ca 10 m) and the Treytel Pockmark (diameter ca 100 m, depth ca 4 m) indicate ‘quiescent’ fluid flow as well as past, ‘eruptive’, events of subsurface sediment mobilization. This study aims to test the hypothesis that phases of increased fluid flow through the pockmarks have led to the remobilization and spilling of sediment over the pockmark rims, and that different modes of activity phases are responsible for their maintenance and growth. So termed ‘subsurface sediment mobilization deposits’ are visible in seismic profiles and correlate to specific, sedimentary intervals in Kullenberg‐type long piston cores. In a detailed analysis, different modes of transport are recognized, which are attributed to high‐density flows that correspond to multiple pulses of activity. The pockmark morphology, seismic stratigraphy and core correlation with pre‐existing data reveals that the two pockmarks have been maintained throughout the Holocene and underwent several switches between ‘quiescent’ and ‘eruptive’ mode activity.     

Oxygen isotope and palaeotemperature records from six Greenland ice‐core stations: Camp Century,Dye‐3, GRIP,GISP2, Renland and NorthGRIP

Oxygen isotope variations spanning the last glacial cycle and the Holocene derived from ice‐core records for six sites in Greenland (Camp Century, Dye‐3, GRIP, GISP2, Renland and NorthGRIP) show strong similarities. This suggests that the dominant influence on oxygen isotope variations reflected in the ice‐sheet records was regional climatic change. Differences in detail between the records probably reflect the effects of basal deformation in the ice as well as geographical gradients in atmospheric isotope ratios. Palaeotemperature estimates have been obtained from the records using three approaches: (i) inferences based on the measured relationship between mean annual δ¹⁸O of snow and of mean annual surface temperature over Greenland; (ii) modelled inversion of the borehole temperature profile constrained either by the dated isotopic profile, or (iii) by using Monte Carlo simulation techniques. The third of these approaches was adopted to reconstruct Holocene temperature variations for the Dye 3 and GRIP temperature profiles, which yields remarkably compatible results. A new record of Holocene isotope variations obtained from the NorthGRIP ice‐core matches the GRIP short‐term isotope record, and also shows similar long‐term trends to the Dye‐3 and GRIP inverted temperature data. The NorthGRIP isotope record reflects: (i) a generally stronger isotopic signal than is found in the GRIP record; (ii) several short‐lived temperature fluctuations during the first 1500 yr of the Holocene; (iii) a marked cold event at ca. 8.2 ka (the ‘8.2 ka event’); (iv) optimum temperatures for the Holocene between ca. 8.6 and 4.3 ka, a signal that is 0.6‰ stronger than for the GRIP profile; (v) a clear signal for the Little Ice Age; and (vi) a clear signal of climate warming during the last century. These data suggest that the NorthGRIP stable isotope record responded in a sensitive manner to temperature fluctuations during the Holocene. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Tree ring dating using oxygen isotopes: a master chronology for central England

Ring‐width dendrochronology, based on matching patterns of ring width variability, works best when trees are growing under significant environmental (climatic) stress. In the UK, and elsewhere in the temperate mid‐latitudes, trees generally experience low stress, so dating is more difficult and often fails. Oxygen isotopes in tree rings passively record changes in the isotopic ratios of summer precipitation, so they carry a strong common signal, which offers potential for cross‐dating. A master chronology covering the period 1200–2000 ce was constructed using the oxygen isotope ratios of the latewood cellulose of oak samples from central England. Two independent chronologies, developed to verify the isotopic signal, were combined (n = 10 trees) and the method was evaluated by dating timbers of known age and historical timbers that could not be dated by ring‐width dendrochronology, from both within and beyond the central England region. The agreement between samples and the master chronology is exceptionally strong, allowing the dating of timbers with far fewer rings than is normally the case for ring‐width dendrochronology. Tree‐ring oxygen isotope values are more suited to correlation analysis than tree‐ring widths, so it is possible to provide t‐values that conform to Student's t‐distribution and can be converted into probabilities of error. A protocol for assigning dates using ‘stable‐isotope dendrochronology’ is proposed, which has the potential to revolutionize the dating of wooden structures and artefacts, allowing the dating of short and invariant ring sequences from young, fast‐grown trees. Such samples are commonplace throughout the historical building and archaeological records and were, until now, considered impossible to date. © 2019 The Authors. Journal of Quaternary Science Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd     

Time series and postglacial forest ecology

Forest ecology suffers from a lack of long-term community records. Preserved pollen data are richer in such information than is generally realized. By applying suitable statistical techniques to pollen records, one can learn much about competition, succession, and population dynamics in past tree communities. In this study, preserved pollen records from Everitt Lake, Nova Scotia, are analyzed as time series. Time domain studies reveal the post-fire responses of individual tree taxa. Correlograms yield models of past forest succession patterns. The models explain some effects of changing fire frequency, thus suggesting mechanisms by which fire, competition, and climate combine to produce long-term forest composition changes. Frequency domain studies suggest relationships between disturbance cycles, stand composition, and forest mosaics. Fire frequencies are seen to be highest where fire-dependent species abound and most regular where tree stands have uniform, not mixed, composition.     

Dendrochronologically dated changes in the limit of pine in northernmost Finland during the past 7.5 millennia

Postglacial changes in the occurrence of Scots pine in northernmost Finland and adjacent areas are indicated in data sets of megafossils dated to an accuracy of 1 year using analysis of tree rings. After adjustment for land uplift, results in the altitudinal and latitudinal extent and in the structure of the pine limit are compared in the context of megafossil and pollen evidence from Fennoscandia, the Kola Peninsula and Scotland. Temporal changes in tree density at the forest limit are estimated from chronology sample size. The record from the subregion of Enontekio shows a long-term retreat of pine, corresponding to summer cooling caused by orbital forcing. This long-term trend is superposed by shorter-term fluctuations, which is consistent with other proxy evidence of pine. An abrupt decline in the forest limit occurred during the first millennium BC in two major steps, with no indication of high-altitude pine germination between 800 BC and AD 100. The subregions of Inari and Utsjoki show significant fluctuations at the forest limit in tree density only.     

树轮气候学中树木年轮密度分析方法的研究进展

树木年轮密度（树轮密度）分析作为树轮气候学的一种研究方法,能够提取更准确的环境信息,应用范围更广,在过去环境变化研究中受到越来越广泛的重视。讨论了树轮密度测量技术与树轮密度分析方法在过去气候变化研究中的发展历程及最新研究成果,认为X射线分析法仍然是目前被广泛采用的树轮密度分析手段,基于树轮密度数据的过去温度变化重建仍是树轮密度研究的主要方向。相关研究表明：森林上限和高纬度地区树木年轮的最大晚材密度对夏季温度变化非常敏感,可以用来重建过去几百年、乃至千年的不同空间尺度的温度变化;树轮早材密度或最小早材密度对降水量的响应比较显著,但目前主要集中于重建区域小尺度的降水量变化方面。另外,树轮密度分析结果还可以用来研究某些气候要素分量的变化（季节变化、气候事件爆发的早晚和持续时间等）、区域气候变化的影响因子以及海气动力机制、气压异常等。     

Signals of tree volume and temperature in a high‐resolution record of pollen accumulation rates in northern Finland

Pollen accumulation rates (PARs) provide a potential proxy for quantitative tree volume (m³ ha^?1) reconstruction with reliable absolute pollen productivity estimates (APPEs). We obtained APPEs for pine, spruce and birch at their range limits in northern Finland under two temperature periods (‘warm’ and ‘cold’) based on long‐term pollen trap and tree volume records within a 14‐km radius of each trap. APPEs (mean ± SE; × 10⁸ grains m^?3 a^?1) tend to be higher for the ‘warm’ periods (pine 123.8 ± 24.4, birch 528.0 ± 398.4, spruce 434.3 ± 113.7) compared with the ‘cold’ periods (pine 95.5 ± 37.3, birch 317.3 ± 282.6, spruce 119.6 ± 37.6), although the difference is only significant for spruce. Using an independent temperature record and the APPEs obtained, we reconstruct a low‐frequency record of pine volume changes over the last 1000 years at Palomaa mire, where a high‐resolution record of Pinus PARs is available. Five phases are distinguished in the reconstruction: moderate pine volume, AD 1080–1170; high volume, AD 1170–1340; low volume, AD 1340–1630; very low volume, AD 1630–1810; and rising pine volume, AD 1810–1950. These phases do not coincide with periods of high or low June–July–August temperatures, and thus appear to reflect regional variations in tree volume, while high‐frequency changes within each time‐period block show variations in PARs in response to temperature. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A 602-year Reconstruction of July-June Streamflow in the Kuqa River, China, Reveals the Changing Hydrological Signals of the Tarim Basin

A regional tree-ring width chronology of Schrenk spruce(Picea schrenkiana) was used to determine the annual(previous July to current June) streamflow of the Kuqa River in Xinjiang, China, for the period of 1414–2015. A linear transformation of the tree-ring data accounted for 63.9% of the total variance when regressed against instrumental streamflow during 1957–2006. The model was validated by comparing the regression estimates against independent data. High streamflow periods with a streamflow above the 602-year mean occurred from 1430–1442, 1466–1492, 1557–1586, 1603–1615, 1687–1717, 1748–1767, 1795–1819, 1834–1856, 1888–1910 and 1989–2015. Low streamflow periods(streamflow below the mean) occurred from 1419–1429, 1443–1465, 1493–1556, 1587–1602, 1616–1686, 1720–1747, 1768–1794, 1820–1833, 1857–1887 and 1911–1988. The reconstruction compares well with the tree-ring-based streamflow series of the Tizinafu River from the Kunlun Mountains; both show well-known severe drought events. The streamflow reconstruction also shows highly synchronous upward trends since the 1980 s, suggesting that streamflow is related to Central Asian warming and humidification. Thus, the influences of the extremes and the persistence of low streamflows on local society may be considerable. Climatic changes in the watershed may be responsible for the change in the hydrologic regime of the Tarim Basin observed during the late twentieth century.     

Coarse clast ridge sequences as suitable archives for past storm events? Case study on the Houtman Abrolhos,Western Australia

Prehistoric storm records are relatively scarce in most parts of the world. This article presents storm records derived from coral rubble‐based geological archives of the Houtman Abrolhos Archipelago located off the west coast of Australia, where the southernmost coral reefs of the Indian Ocean are found. Winter storm swell from the circum‐Antarctic ‘Brave Westerlies’, as well as tropical cyclone waves, have left numerous ridge systems on dozens of islands of the archipelago, all composed of coral rubble from adjacent reefs. At three islands, seven ridge systems were dated by three different methods: U‐series (68 dates), radiocarbon (64 dates), electron spin resonance (7 dates); 139 radiometric dates span the last 5500 years of the Holocene. In contrast to the geomorphological interpretation, the age sequences show ‘inversions’, hiatuses and different ages for the same ridge, all pointing to complicated ridge formation processes. Time gaps, some exceeding 1000 years, are interpreted as phases of erosion and not as phases without storm activity. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.