Multiproxy evidence for terrestrial and aquatic ecosystem responses during the 8.2 ka cold event as recorded at Højby Sø, Denmark

A sediment succession from Højby Sø, a lake in eastern Denmark, covering the time period 9400–7400 cal yr BP was studied using high-resolution geochemistry, magnetic susceptibility, pollen, macrofossil, diatom, and algal pigment analysis to investigate responses of the terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems to the 8.2 ka cold event. A reduced pollen production by thermophilous deciduous tree taxa in the period c. 8250–8000 cal yr BP reveal that the forest ecosystem was affected by low temperatures during the summer and winter/early-spring seasons. This finding is consistent with the timing of the 8.2 ka cold event as registered in the Greenland ice cores. At Højby Sø, the climate anomaly appears to have started 200–250 yr earlier than the 8.2 ka cold event as the lake proxy data provide strong evidence for a precipitation-induced distinct increase in catchment soil erosion beginning around 8500 cal yr BP. Alteration of the terrestrial environment then resulted in a major aquatic ecosystem change with nutrient enrichment of the lake and enhanced productivity, which lasted until c. 7900 cal yr BP.     

Complexity of the 8 ka climate event in Sweden recorded by varved lake sediments

Mineral magnetic and carbon analyses of a continuous varved lake sediment sequence in west-central Sweden (Lake Mötterudstjärnet) complement similar palaeoclimate proxies obtained from two varved lake sediment sequences in northern Sweden and one in central Finland. The varve chronology is supported by tephrochronology, palaeomagnetic secular variations and ¹⁴C AMS dating of terrestrial macrofossils. We apply a simple model in which the transport and deposition of catchment mineral matter reflect the amount of winter snow accumulation, spring snow-melt and stream discharge. Our data show that winter snow accumulation was generally enhanced in Sweden between 8100 and 7750 cal. yr BP. If dating errors are taken into account, the 350-year period of increased erosion is the geomorphic response to a multi-centennial scale climatic cooling that occurred some time between 8500 and 7500 cal. yr BP. The most significant erosion event in central Sweden was centred at 8050 cal. yr BP. It lasted 150 years (between 8100 and 7950 cal. yr BP) and is equivalent to the most extreme Holocene climate anomaly in the northern hemisphere, known as the 8 ka or 8200 cal. yr BP climate event. Our high-resolution paramagnetic susceptibility and ferrimagnetic grain-size parameters suggest that snowpack accumulation increased most significantly in northern Sweden between 7900 and 7750 cal. yr BP. We suggest that this north–south difference was a response to the re-establishment of moisture-laden westerly air masses, as meridional Atlantic overturning circulation was re-established at the beginning of the Holocene thermal maximum.     

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.     

Patterns of human occupation during the early Holocene in the Central Ebro Basin (NE Spain) in response to the 8.2 ka climatic event

The Central Ebro River Basin (NE Spain) is the most northern area of truly semi-arid Mediterranean climate in Europe and prehistoric human occupation there has been strongly influenced by this extreme environmental condition. Modern climate conditions single out this region due to the harsh environment, characterised by the highest absolute summer temperatures of the Ebro River Basin. The Bajo Aragón region (SE Ebro River Basin) was intensively populated during the Early Holocene (9400-8200 cal yr BP) but the settlements were abandoned abruptly at around 8200 cal yr BP. We propose that this “archaeological silence” was caused by the regional impact of the global abrupt 8.2 ka cold event. Available regional paleoclimate archives demonstrate the existence of an aridity crisis then that interrupted the humid Early Holocene. That environmental crisis would have forced hunter-gatherer groups from the Bajo Aragón to migrate to regions with more favourable conditions (i.e. more humid mountainous areas) and only return in the Neolithic. Coherently, archaeological sites persist during this crisis in the nearby Iberian Range (Maestrazgo) and the North Ebro River area (Pre-Pyrenean mountains and along the northwestern Ebro Basin).     

Lacustrine sediments provide geochemical evidence of environmental change during the last millennium in southeastern Brazil

A 172 cm-long sediment core was collected from a small pristine lake situated within a centripetal drainage basin in a tropical karst environment (Ribeira River valley, southeastern Brazil) in order to investigate the paleoenvironmental record provided by the lacustrine geochemistry. Sediments derived from erosion of the surrounding cambisoils contain quartz, kaolinite, mica, chlorite and goethite. Accelerator mass spectroscopy (AMS) ¹⁴C dating provided the geochronological framework. Three major sedimentary units were identified based on the structure and color of the sediments: Unit III from 170 to140 cm (1030±60–730±60 yr BP), Unit II from 140 to 90 cm (730±60–360±60 yr BP) and Unit I from 90 to 0 cm (360±60–0 yr BP). Results of major and trace element concentrations were analysed through multivariate statistical techniques. Factor analysis provided three factors accounting for 72.4% of the total variance. F1 and F2 have high positive loadings from K, Ba, Cs, Rb, Sr, Sc, Th, light rare earth element (LREE), Fe, Cr, Ti, Zr, Hf and Ta, and high negative loadings from Mg, Co, Cu, Zn, Br and loss on ignition (LOI). F3, with positive loadings from V and non-metals As and Sb, accounts for a low percentage (9.7%) of the total variance, being therefore of little interpretative use. The profile distribution of F1 scores reveals negative values in Units I and III, and positive values in Unit II, meaning that K, Ba, Cs, Rb, Sr, Sc, Th, LREE, Fe, Cr, Ti, Zr, Hf and Ta are relatively more concentrated in Unit II, and Mg, Co, Cu, Zn and Br are relatively more abundant in Units I and III. The observed fluctuations in the geochemical composition of the sediments are consistent with slight variations of the erosion intensity in the catchment area as a possible response to variations of climatic conditions during the last millennium.     

A pronounced dry event recorded around 4.2 ka in brine sediments from the northern Red Sea

Partly laminated sediments were sampled from the brine-filled, anoxic Shaban Deep basin in the northern Red Sea. At about 4200 cal yr BP more than two millennia of anoxic sedimentation is replaced by a sub-oxic facies strongly suggesting the episodic absence of the brine. At the same time stable oxygen isotopes from surface dwelling foraminifera show a sharp increase (within less than 100 yr) pointing to a strong positive salinity anomaly at the sea surface. This major evaporation event significantly enhanced the renewal of deep water and the subsequent ventilation of the small Shaban Deep basin. The timing and strength of the reconstructed environmental changes around 4200 cal yr BP suggest that this event is the regional expression of a major drought event, which is widely observed in the neighboring regions, and which strongly affected Middle East agricultural civilizations.     

Punctuated environmental change along the Holocene (<6 ka) bank margin of south-west Exuma Sound, Bahamas

Characteristics of environmental change along the Holocene (<6 ka BP) bank margin of south‐west Exuma Sound, Bahamas, are defined by comparing mineral, isotope and lithologic stratigraphic patterns in deep‐water (1081 m) slope strata in ODP Hole 631A (Exuma Sound) with proximal (≈6 km) shoal‐water and insular geology of the Lee Stocking Island (LSI) region. After platform submergence, a bank‐top transition from non‐skeletal‐ to skeletal‐dominated deposition occurred in the LSI region by ≈3·8 ka, and is recorded in the adjacent slope sediments by a contemporaneous change in the abundance of transported allochems. The transition at Site 631 is punctuated by an anomalous shift in foraminiferal δ¹³C (–1‰) and δ¹⁸O (–3‰), which may represent a period of climate change that established a brackish coastal zone at least 6 km wide, coincident (≈3·8–4 ka) with bank‐top erosion and pedogenesis. Non‐skeletal allochems reappeared in Hole 631A sediments as the dominant transported allochem type by ≈2·4 ka, then again over the last several hundred years, and are contemporaneous with periods of increased platform‐margin circulation in the LSI region. Such rejuvenation of platform circulation may have resulted from rapid relative rises in sea level, superimposed on the net gradual post‐glacial rise. At Site 631, a prominent (25%) decline in aragonite abundance occurred during the period from 2·4 ka to the last few hundred years, and coincided with an increase in magnesian calcite and skeletal debris, and a positive shift in foraminiferal δ¹⁸O values. These patterns lend support to the hypothesis that, during this period, the LSI margin was barred by skeletal shoals, allowing bank‐top trapping of aragonite and hypersaline water, with increased coastal salinity (resulting from reflux of hypersaline waters through the shoals) and/or cooled coastal waters (caused by reduced exchange of warmed bank‐derived water relative to wind‐generated upwelling). Along the Exuma slope, a diagenetic overprint may further enhance the recent decline in aragonite accumulation. Integration of Holocene deep‐water slope and bank‐top stratigraphies along the bank margin of south‐west Exuma Sound reveals a pattern of punctuated environmental change superimposed on longer term development of interglacial conditions.     

Geochemical time series from lake sediments of the Central Asia as chronologic evidence of environmental change over the Late Holocene

Lake sediments provide archives of various parameters correlative with climatic oscillations such as seasonal temperature and humidity. However, geochemical records from many European and Asian lakes cannot be directly correlated with meteorological data within densely populated areas, because of anthropogenic pollution there. The human impact has greatly increased within the instrumental period of the last 150-200 years. However, the pollution problem is not essential for the mountain lakes of Siberia and Mongolia remote from industrial and agricultural centers. For such lakes a correlation between sedimentological-geochemical （inorganic） parameters and climatic data is correct enough. It is able to estimate any type of transfer functions for quantification of that dependence.     

苏北平原沉积孢粉组合记录的全新世气候突变

通过中国东部苏北平原厚3.4 m的PM4剖面孢粉分析结果,重建了该地区全新世以来古植被更替过程,查明了5.20~3.00 cal.ka B.P.中国东部沿海平原百年尺度的海平面变化历史,并探讨了沿海平原植被对海平面变化的响应。孢粉结果表明,全新世以来该地区的植被与气候经历了以下5个阶段:1)11.90~8.80 cal.ka B.P.,亚热带常绿、落叶阔叶混交林繁盛,气候温暖湿润;2)8.80~7.40 cal.ka B.P.,发育了常绿、落叶阔叶混交林-草地,气候相对冷干;3)7.40~5.20 cal.ka B.P.,植被为常绿、落叶阔叶混交林,温度降低,降水增加;4)5.20~1.08 cal.ka B.P.,植被退化为盐生草甸;5)1.08 cal.ka B.P.以来植被中湿生草本群落繁盛。根据藜科、蒿属、禾本科和莎草科花粉的含量变化及粒度、有孔虫特征重建了相对海平面的变化历史,5.20~4.55 cal.ka B.P.、4.25~4.05 cal.ka B.P.与4.55~4.25 cal.ka B.P.、4.05~3.00 cal.ka B.P.分别为海平面上升和下降的阶段。研究区4.25~4.05 cal.ka B.P.海平面上升可与大范围尺度的"4.2 ka B.P.气候事件"相对应,可能受到了当时东亚季风减弱、苏北平原强降水与大规模洪水事件的共同驱动。     

Modelling the vegetation response to the 8.2 ka bp cooling event in Europe and Northern Africa

The 8.2 ka bp cooling event is assumed to be the most clearly marked abrupt climate event in the Holocene at northern mid‐ to high latitudes. In this study, we simulate the vegetation responses to the 8.2 ka bp climate change event over Europe and Northern Africa. Our results show that all dominant plant functional types (PFTs) over Europe and North Africa respond to these climate changes, but the magnitude, timing and impact factor of their responses are different. Compared with pollen‐based vegetation reconstructions, our simulation generally captures the main features of vegetation responses to the 8.2 ka bp event. Interestingly, in Western Europe, the simulated vegetation after perturbation is different from its initial state, which is consistent with two high‐resolution pollen records. This different vegetation composition indicates the long‐lasting impact of abrupt climate change on vegetation through eco‐physiological and ecosystem demographic processes, such as plant competition. Moreover, our simulations suggest a latitudinal gradient in the magnitude of the event, with more pronounced vegetation responses to the severe cooling in the north and weaker responses to less severe cooling in the south. This effect is not seen in pollen records. © 2019 The Authors. Journal of Quaternary Science Published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Holocene lake salinity changes in the Wimmera,southeastern Australia,provide evidence for millennial-scale climate variability

Palaeosalinity records for groundwater-influenced lakes in the southwest Murray Basin were constructed from an ostracod-based, weighted-averaging transfer function, supplemented with evidence from Campylodiscus clypeus (diatom), charophyte oogonia, Coxiella striata (gastropod), Elphidium sp. (foraminifera), Daphniopsis sp. ephippia (Cladocera), and brine shrimp (Parartemia zietziana) faecal pellets, the δ¹⁸O of ostracods, and > 130 μm quartz sand counts. The chronology is based on optically stimulated luminescence and calibrated radiocarbon ages. Relatively wet conditions are marked by lower salinities between 9600 yr and 5700 yr ago, but mutually exclusive high- and low-salinity ostracod communities suggest substantial variability in effective precipitation in the early Holocene. A drier climate was firmly in place by 4500 yr and is marked at the groundwater-dominated NW Jacka Lake by an increase in aeolian quartz and, at Jacka Lake, by a switch from surface-water to groundwater dominance. Short-lived, low-salinity events at 8800, 7200, 5900, 4800, 2400, 1300 and 400 yr are similar in timing and number to those recorded on Australia's southern continental shelf, and globally, and provide evidence for the existence of the ~ 1500-yr cycle in mainland southern Australia. We surmise that these are cool events associated with periodic equatorward shifts in the westerly wind circulation.     

鲁北平原东部巨淀湖岩心沉积物记录的全新世环境演变

鲁北平原东部巨淀湖处于中国北方季风区,对全球气候变化响应敏感,为研究海岸带地区过去的气候环境演变提供了丰富的湖泊沉积资料。通过对巨淀湖钻孔岩心沉积物孢粉鉴定、粒度分析和AMS¹⁴C年代测定,探讨了鲁北平原地区8900 cal a BP以来的气候环境演变过程。结果表明: 8900—7625 cal a BP,气温较高,降水丰沛,气候较暖湿;7625—6810 cal a BP,气候整体呈变凉变干的趋势;6810—4435 cal a BP,温度回升,降水增加,显示了全新世中期整体温暖湿润的气候特征;4435—3150 cal a BP,气候整体寒冷湿润,其间也存在小幅的冷暖波动。中全新世期间5450—5280 cal a BP和4160—4090 cal a BP出现了明显冷干事件,这与中国乃至全球范围内的地质气候记录存在一致性,究其原因可能是受到太阳辐射变化导致的赤道辐合带南移、大洋海表温度变化以及地表植被的反馈作用的共同影响。     

Holocene environmental evolution recorded by core sediments of Judian Lake in the east of Lubei Plain,Shandong Province

Judian Lake in the east of Lubei Plain is located in the monsoon area of northern China,which is sensitive to global climate change and provides abundant lake sedimentary data for the study of the past climate and environment evolution in the land-sea interaction area. Based on the sporopollen identification,grain size analysis and AMS¹⁴C dating of core sediments from the drilling hole of the Judian Lake,the evolutional process of climate and environment since 8900 cal a BP in the northern Lubei Plain was discussed. The results show that: 8900-7625cal a BP,the temperature and precipitation increased and the climate changed from cold-dry to warm-wet;7625—6810 cal a BP,the overall climate was becoming cooler and drier;6810—4435cal a BP,the temperature rose and the precipitation increased,showing an overall warm and humid climate in the middle Holocene;4435—3150cal a BP,the climate was generally cold and humid with some low-amplitude fluctuations of cold and warm. During the middle Holocene,there were two obvious cold and dry events in 5450—5280cal a BP and 4160—4090cal a BP,which was consistent with the geological and climatic records in China and even in the world. It may be due to the southward movement of the equatorial convergence zone caused by the change of solar radiation,the change of ocean surface temperature and the feedback of surface vegetation.     

毛乌素沙漠东南缘湖沼相沉积物粒度特征记录的12.2 cal.ka B.P.以来的区域环境变化

选取毛乌素沙漠东南缘典型湖沼相沉积炭窑沟剖面,通过分析沉积序列粒度组成与粒度分布特征,结合AMS ¹⁴C年代数据,恢复了本区12.2 cal.ka B.P.以来的环境变化过程。结果显示：12.2 cal.ka B.P.之前沉积物较粗,以极细砂和细砂为主,粒度分布曲线与现代风成砂一致,为典型风成砂堆积,说明这一时期气候干旱,炭窑沟地区为沙漠环境;12.2~6.2 cal.ka B.P.堆积湖相沉积,粉砂和粘土含量增加,指示气候变湿,变为湖滨或浅湖环境;6.2~3.0 cal.ka B.P.发育泥炭,沉积物以粉砂为主,在细颗粒及300~500 μm处各有一个弱峰,说明这一时期气候持续好转,植被生长茂密,湖滨或浅湖变为湿地或沼泽;3.0 cal.ka B.P.之后沉积物平均粒径变粗,各组分随深度变化频繁,但粒度分布曲线主要表现为两种模式,一种为典型风成砂模式,一种为细颗粒显著增加的湖相沉积模式,指示这个时期气候总体变干,但期间经历了多次干湿变化。12.2 cal.ka B.P.以来毛乌素沙漠东南缘环境演化过程与季风边缘区气候变化有很好地一致性,与东亚季风变化也具有同步的变化规律,说明本区环境演化进程主要受到东亚季风的控制。

     

n-Alkane evidence for the onset of wetter conditions in the Sierra Nevada,California (USA) at the mid-late Holocene transition, ~ 3.0 ka

n-Alkane biomarker distributions in sediments from Swamp Lake (SL), in the central Sierra Nevada of California (USA), provide evidence for an increase in mean lake level ~ 3000 yr ago, in conjunction with widespread climatic change inferred from marine and continental records in the eastern North Pacific region. Length distributions of n-alkane chains in modern plants growing at SL were determined and compared to sedimentary distributions in a core spanning the last 13 ka. As a group, submerged and floating aquatic plants contained high proportions of short chain lengths (< nC₂₅) compared to emergent, riparian and upland terrestrial species, for which chain lengths > nC₂₇ were dominant. Changes in the sedimentary n-alkane distribution over time were driven by variable inputs from plant sources in response to changing lake level, sedimentation and plant community composition. A shift toward shorter chain lengths (nC_21, nC₂₃) occurred between 3.1 and 2.9 ka and is best explained by an increase in the abundance of aquatic plants and the availability of shallow-water habitat in response to rising lake level. The late Holocene expansion of SL following a dry mid-Holocene is consistent with previous evidence for increased effective moisture and the onset of wetter conditions in the Sierra Nevada between 4.0 and 3.0 ka.     

Lacustrine sedimentological and geochemical records for the last 170 years of climate and environmental changes in southeastern China

Reconstruction of modern climate and environmental changes in east Asia using inland natural climate archives can provide valuable insights on decadal–multidecadal climate and environmental patterns that are probably related to both natural and anthropogenic forcing. Here we investigated an 89‐cm‐long sediment core (TH1) from Tian Lake, southeastern China, for sedimentological, physical and geochemical parameters in order to understand climate and environmental changes for the latest two centuries. ¹³⁷Cs‐ and ²¹⁰Pb‐based age models show that the fine sand–coarse silt‐dominated core contains ~170 years (c. AD 1842–2011) of continuous sedimentation. Sediments with fine sands, low MS values, high water content, high TOC content and a high C:N ratio from c. AD 1842 to 1897 suggest intense hydrological conditions and strong runoff in the catchment, probably because of a humid climate. From AD 1897 to 1990, sediments with very fine sand and coarse silt, high MS values, low water content and unchanged TOC and C:N ratios indicate normal hydrological conditions and in‐lake algae‐derived organic matter. During this interval, the chemical weathering indicators show stronger weathering conditions compared with sediments deposited during AD 1842–1897, supporting the dominance of weathered surface soil input in the earlier interval and physical erosion dominance in the later period, respectively. Since AD 1990, the continuous decrease of geochemical proxies suggests human‐interacted Earth surface processes in the catchment of Tian Lake. A PCA revealed four dominant geochemical controlling factors – detrital input, trophic status, grain size and early diagenesis –, accounting for 26, 20, 18 and 16% of total variance, respectively. This study for the first time provides lacustrine geochemical evidence for the most recent two centuries of climate and environmental changes in coastal southeastern China, a region that is currently undergoing an inversion of critical zone, i.e. an overturning of its soil profile, owing to swift modernization.     

杭州湘湖剖面全新世沉积物的地球化学记录及其地质意义

对杭州湘湖剖面高密度连续采集的样品,分析了Fe2O3、FeO、TiO2、C2CO3、Al2O3及Fe2O3／FeO比值的高分辨记录,发现它们对全新世的重要地层界面都有较清晰的反映,同时揭示了不同沉积环境下地球化学背景值存在显著的差异。运用Fe^2 ／Fe^2 与年平均温度的关系式推算了各样品点的古温度值,并结合多种地球化学指标、^14C测年结果以及岩性岩相组合特征,将湘湖地区全新世早、中期(10-3ka B．P．)初步划分为4个气候发展阶段,并指出7.5～5．1 ka B．P之间为本区的全新世气候适宜期。     

Late‐glacial to Holocene environmental changes and climate variability: evidence from Voldafjorden,western Norway

Sedimentological, micropalaeontological (benthic foraminifers and dinoflagellate cysts), stable isotope data and AMS ¹⁴C datings on cores and surface samples, in addition to acoustic data, have been obtained from Voldafjorden, western Norway. Based on these data the late glacial and Holocene sedimentological processes and variability in circulation and fjord environments are outlined. Glacial marine sedimentation prevailed in the Voldafjorden between 11.0 kyr and 9.2 kyr BP (radiocarbon years). In the later part of the Allerød period, and for the rest of the Holocene, there was deposition of fine‐grained normal marine sediments in the fjord basin. Turbidite layers, recorded in core material and on acoustic profiles, dated to ca. 2.1, 6.9–7.6, ca. 9.6 and ca. 11.0 kyr BP, interrupted the marine sedimentation. The event dated to between 6.9 and 7.6 kyr BP probably corresponds to a tsunami resulting from large‐scale sliding on the continental margin off Norway (the Storegga Tsunami). During the later part of the Allerød period, Voldafjorden had a strongly stratified water column with cold bottom water and warm surface water, reaching interglacial temperatures during the summer seasons. During the Younger Dryas cold event there was a return to arctic sea‐surface summer temperatures, possibly with year‐round sea‐ice cover, the entire benthic fauna being composed of arctic species. The first strong Holocene warming, observed simultaneously in bottom and sea‐surface temperature proxies, occurred at ca. 10.1 kyr BP. Bottom water proxies indicate two cold periods, possibly with 2°C lowering of temperatures, at ca. 10.0 (PBO 1) and at 9.8 kyr BP (PBO 2). These events may both result from catastrophic outbursts of Baltic glacial lake water. The remainder of the Holocene experienced variability in basin water temperature, indicated by oxygen isotope measurements with an amplitude of ca. 2°C, with cooler periods at ca. 8.4–9.0, 5.6, 5.2, 4.6, 4.2, 3.5, 2.2, 1.2 and 0.4–0.8 kyr BP. Changes in the fjord hydrology through the past 11.3 kyr show a close correspondence, both in amplitude and timing of events, recorded in cores from the Norwegian Sea region and the North Atlantic. These data suggest a close relationship between fjord environments and variability in large‐scale oceanic circulation. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The Holocene environmental changes revealed from the sediments of the Yarkov sub-basin of Lake Chany,south-western Siberia

Lake Chany is the largest endorheic lake in Siberia whose catchment is entirely on the territory of Russia. Its geographical location on the climate-sensitive boundary of wet and dry landscapes provides an opportunity to gain more knowledge about environmental changes in the West Siberian interior during the Holocene and about the evolution of the lake itself. Sediment cores obtained from the Yarkov sub-basin of the lake in 2008 have been comprehensively studied by a number of approaches including sedimentology and AMS dating, pollen, diatom and chironomid analyses (with statistical interpretation of the results), mineralogy of authigenic minerals and geochemistry of plant lipids (biomarker analysis.). Synthesis of new results presented here and published data provides a good justification for our hypothesis that Lake Chany is very young, no older than 3.6 ka BP. Before that, between 9 and 3.6 ka BP, the Chany basin was a swampy landscape with a very low sedimentation rate; it could not be identified as a water body. In the early lake phase, between 3.6 and 1.5 ka BP, the lake was shallow, 1.2–3.5 m in depth, and it rose to its modern size, up to 6.5 m in depth, during the last millennium. Our data reveal important changes in the understanding of the history of this large endorheic lake, as before it was envisioned as a large lake with significant changes in water level since ca. 14 ka BP. In addition to hydrology, our proxies provide updates and details of the regional vegetation and climate change since ca. 4 ka BP in the West-Siberian forest-steppe and steppe. As evolution of the Chany basin is dependent on hydroclimatic changes in a large region of southern West Siberia, we compare lake-level change and climate-change proxies from the other recently and most comprehensively studied lakes of the region.