A multiproxy record of Holocene environmental changes in the central Kola Peninsula,northwest Russia

A sediment core from Chuna Lake (Kola Peninsula, northwest Russia) was studied for pollen, diatoms and sediment chemistry in order to infer post‐glacial environmental changes and to investigate responses of the lake ecosystem to these changes. The past pH and dissolved organic carbon (DOC) of the lake were inferred using diatom‐based transfer functions. Between 9000 and 4200 cal. yr BP, slow natural acidification and major changes in the diatom flora occurred in Chuna Lake. These correlated with changes in regional pollen, the arrival of trees in the catchment, changes in erosion, sediment organic content and DOC. During the past 4200 yr diatom‐based proxies showed no clear response to changes in vegetation and erosion, as autochthonous ecological processes became more important than external climate influences during the late Holocene. The pollen stratigraphy reflects the major climate patterns of the central Kola Peninsula during the Holocene, i.e. a climate optimum between 9000 and 5400/5000 cal. yr BP when climate was warm and dry, and gradual climate cooling and an increase in moisture during the past 5400/5000 yr. This agrees with the occurrence of the north–south humidity gradient in Fennoscandia during the Holocene. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

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.     

青藏高原兹格塘错沉积记录的全新世水位变化事件及其原因初步研究

兹格塘错是一个内陆封闭型湖泊,位于藏北高原腹地,处于西南季风作用边缘地带。由于流域内无冰川分布,湖泊补给主要靠大气降水,因此水体的扩张与收缩能够直接反映西南季风的变化。半干旱气候地区湖泊沉积物碳酸盐含量能够敏感地反映水体的扩张与收缩。兹格塘错沉积物碳酸盐含量高,与可溶盐(氯离子与硫酸根离子)含量变化结合能更好地揭示水体的演化阶段。分析结果表明,在9.3～8.9calkaBP、8.3～7.8calkaBP、5.0～4.7calkaBP、4.0～3.8calkaBP和3.1～2.7calkaBP碳酸盐含量出现大幅度下降,指示湖泊淡化、水位升高。但在3.8calkaBP左右碳酸盐含量和可溶盐(氯离子与硫酸根离子)含量同时出现峰值,指示出湖泊水体盐度升高、水位出现下降;近1calkaBP以来,碳酸盐与可溶盐含量都呈现逐渐下降趋势,表明湖泊水体逐渐淡化、水位缓慢上升的过程。但近100a来可溶盐含量上升,指示出湖泊水体的不断浓缩和水位下降过程,这和近百年的气候暖干化过程是一致的。兹格塘错沉积岩心碳酸盐含量全新世以来5次极低事件,有力地证明青藏高原西南季风在全新世期间的不稳定性。     

Separating climatic and possible human impacts in the early Holocene: biotic response around the time of the 8200 cal. yr BP event

The early Holocene is characterised by rapid climate change events, which in the North Atlantic region are often associated with changes in thermohaline circulation. Superimposed on this in northwest Europe is localised evidence for human impact on the landscape, although separating climatic and anthropogenic mechanisms for environmental change is often difficult. Biotic and sedimentological evidence from a lacustrine sequence from the Inner Hebrides, Scotland, shows a considerable reduction in inferred local woodland centred upon 8250 cal. yr BP. These data correlate precisely with a distinctive rise in the charcoal:pollen ratio and hence suggest a possible Mesolithic human impact upon the vegetation around this time. A quantitative temperature reconstruction from chironomid analyses from the same sequence, supported by sedimentological data, indicates that the fall in arboreal pollen taxa occurred as climate warmed significantly during the early Holocene. This warming was followed by a significant cold event, with mean July temperatures reduced by 2°C, that lasted for at least 320 years ca. 7790–7470 cal. yr BP. Woodland recovered during this phase suggesting that the vegetation during the 8250 cal. yr BP interval was likely to have been responding to human activity, and not climate, and hence it is possible at specific sites to separate the influence of these key drivers of environmental change. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Climate variability over the last 9900 cal yr BP from a swamp forest pollen record along the semiarid coast of Chile

We present a fossil pollen analysis from a swamp forest in the semiarid coast of Chile (32°05′S; 71°30′W), at the northern influence zone of southern westerly wind belt. A ∼10,000 cal yr BP (calendar years before 1950) palynological sequence indicates a humid phase characterized by dense swamp forest taxa dated between ∼9900 and 8700 cal yr BP. The presence of pollen-starved sediments with only scant evidence for semiarid vegetation indicates that extreme aridity ensued until ∼5700 cal yr BP. The swamp forest recovered slowly afterwards, helped by a significant increase in moisture at ∼4200 cal yr BP. A new swamp forest contraction suggests that another slightly less intense drought occurred between ∼3000 and 2200 cal yr BP. The swamp forest expansion begins again at ∼2200 cal yr BP, punctuated by a highly variable climate. Comparisons between the record presented here with other records across the region imply major variations in the extent of the southern westerlies during the Holocene. This variability could have been caused either by latitudinal displacements from the present mean position of southern westerlies wind belt or by changes in the intensity of the South Pacific Subtropical Anticyclone, both of which affect winter precipitation in the region.     

The Iberian-Roman Humid Period (2600-1600 cal yr BP) in the Zoñar Lake varve record (Andalucía, southern Spain)

The Iberian-Roman Humid Period (IRHP, 2600-1600 cal yr BP), is the most humid phase of the last 4000 yr in southern Spain as recorded in the sedimentary sequence of Zoñar Lake (37°29′00″N, 4°41′22″ W, 300 m a.s.l.). A varve chronology supported by several AMS ¹⁴C dates allows study of the lake evolution at annual scale in response to human impact and climate changes. There are four climate phases within this period: i) gradual transition (2600-2500 yr ago, 650-550 BC) from a previous arid period; ii) the most humid interval during the Iberian-Early Roman Epoch (2500-2140 yr ago, 550-190 BC); iii) an arid interval during the Roman Empire Epoch (2140-1800 yr ago, 190 BC AD 150); and iv) a humid period synchronous with the decline of the Roman Empire (1800-1600 yr ago, AD 150-350). Varve thickness and geochemical proxies show a multi-decadal cyclicity similar to modern North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) (60, 20 years) and solar variability cycles (11 yr). The timing and the structure of this humid period is similar to that described in Eastern Mediterranean and northern European sites and supports the same large-scale climate control for northern latitudes and the Mediterranean region.     

Lake sedimentary processes and vegetation changes over the last 45k cal a bp in the uplands of south-eastern Amazonia

This study addresses paleoclimate influences in a southern Amazonia ecotone based on multiproxy records from lakes of the Carajás region during the last 45k cal a bp. Wet and cool environmental conditions marked the initial deposition in shallow depressions with detrital sediments and high weathering rates until 40k cal a bp. Concomitantly, forest and C3 canga plants, along with cool-adapted taxa, developed; however, short drier episodes enabled expansion of C4 plants and diagenetic formation of siderite. A massive event of siderite formation occurred approximately 30k cal a bp under strong drier conditions. Afterwards, wet and cool environmental conditions returned and persisted until the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM). The LGM was marked by lake-level lowstands and subaerial exposure. The transition from the LGM to the Holocene is marked by the onset of oscillations in temperature and humidity, with an expansion of forest and canga plants. Cool taxa were present for the last time in the Carajás region ~ 9.5–9k cal a bp. After 10k cal a bp , shallow lakes became upland swamps due to natural infilling processes, but the current vegetation types and structures of the plateaus were acquired only after 3k cal a bp under wetter climatic conditions.     

辽宁南部金州地区距今13.5 ka以来古植被古气候变化

全新世的穿时性在我国季风区一直备受关注,辽南地区全新世气候变化研究较为缺乏,针对其变化细节的研究很必要。本文基于辽南金州地区一处总厚为354 cm的山间盆地沉积剖面,以220 cm以上的湖沼相沉积的AMS ¹⁴C年代、岩性、孢粉及硅藻的综合分析,确定该剖面为全新世湖沼-泥炭相淡水沉积。研究表明,西团瓢湖相沉积形成于13500 cal.a B.P.前后,该地区植被主要经历了榆-栎阔叶林到针阔混交林两个演替阶段,基于孢粉记录的气候变化过程经历了新仙女木寒冷干燥期、早-中全新世温暖湿润期、晚全新世从温暖湿润到寒冷干燥过渡期以及现代寒冷干燥期这4个阶段,其中晚全新世1387~1529 cal.a B.P.是该区的泥炭发育的起始期。该研究进一步展示了辽南地区全新世以来的气候变化细节,为研究本区全新世以来环境演变过程提供了重要依据。

     

Distribution,sediment magnetism and geochemistry of the Saksunarvatn (10 180 ± 60 cal. yr BP) tephra in marine,lake, and terrestrial sediments,northwest Iceland

In 1997, seismic surveys in the troughs off northwest and north Iceland indicated the presence of a major, regional sub‐bottom reflector that can be traced over large areas of the shelf. Cores taken in 1997, and later in 1999 on the IMAGES V cruise, penetrated through the reflector. In core MD99‐2269 in Húnaflóaáll, this reflector is shown to be represented by a basaltic tephra with a geochemical signature and radiocarbon age correlative with the North Atlantic‐wide Saksunarvatn tephra. We trace this tephra throughout northwest Iceland in a series of marine and lake cores, as well as in terrestrial sediments; it forms a layer 1 to 25 cm thick of fine‐ to medium‐grained basaltic volcanic shards. The base of the tephra unit is always sharp but visual inspection and other measurements (carbonate and total organic carbon weight %) indicate a more diffuse upper boundary associated with bioturbation and with sediment reworking. Off northwest Iceland the Saksunarvatn tephra has distinct sediment magnetic properties. This is evident as a dramatic reduction in magnetic susceptibility, an increase in the frequency dependant magnetic susceptibility and ‘hard’ magnetisation in a −0.1T IRM backfield. Geochemical analyses from 11 sites indicate a tholeiitic basalt composition, similar to the geochemistry of a tephra found in the Greenland ice‐core that dates to 10 180 ± 60 cal. yr BP, and which was correlated with the 9000 ¹⁴C yr BP Saksunarvatn tephra. We present accelerator mass spectrometry ¹⁴C dates from the marine sites, which indicate that the ocean reservoir correction is close to ca. 400 yr at 9000 ¹⁴C yr BP off northwest Iceland. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Post‐glacial vegetation reconstruction and a possible 8200 cal. yr BP event from the low arctic of continental Nunavut,Canada

Climate models suggest that the global warming during the early to mid‐Holocene may have partly resulted from the northward advance of the northern treeline and subsequent reduction of the planetary albedo. We investigated the Holocene vegetation history of low arctic continental Nunavut, Canada, from a radiocarbon‐dated sediment core from TK‐2 Lake, a small‐lake ca. 200 km north of the limit of the forest‐tundra. The pollen and loss‐on‐ignition data indicate the presence of dwarf shrub tundra in the region since the beginning of organic sedimentation at ca. 9000 cal. yr BP with dominance of Betula, especially since 8700 cal. yr BP. At 8100–7900 cal. yr BP the dominance of the shrub tundra was punctuated by a transient decline of Betula and coincident increases of Ericaceae undiff., Vaccinium‐type, and Gramineae. This suggests an abrupt disturbance of the Betula glandulosa population, approximately simultaneously with the sudden 8200 cal. yr BP event in the North Atlantic. However, in the absence of other sites studied in the area, linkage to the 8200 cal. yr BP event remains tentative. The lack of any evidence of forest‐tundra in the region constrains the northern limit of the mid‐Holocene advance of the forest‐tundra boundary in central northern Canada. Consequently, our results show that the climate models imposing a mid‐Holocene advance of the limit of the forest‐tundra to the arctic coast of Canada may have overestimated the positive climatic feedback effects that can result from the replacement of tundra by the boreal forest. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Synchronous pattern of moisture availability on the southern Tibetan Plateau since 17.5 cal. ka BP – the Tangra Yumco lake sediment record

A possible asynchronicity of the spatial and temporal moisture availability on the Tibetan Plateau has been a controversial subject of discussion in recent years. Here we present the first attempt to systematically investigate possible spatial and temporal variations in moisture availability by examining two lakes, Tangra Yumco and Nam Co, on an east–west transect on the southern Tibetan Plateau using identical proxies for palaeoenvironmental reconstruction. In this study, an independent record from Tangra Yumco was analysed applying a multi‐proxy approach to reconstruct variations in moisture availability since the Lateglacial. Results were subsequently compared with previously published records from Nam Co and additional records from Tso Moriri (northwestern Himalaya) and Naleng Co (southeastern Tibetan Plateau). Our results show that Tangra Yumco was at least partially ice covered prior to 17.1 cal. ka BP. A temperature rise after 17.1 cal. ka BP probably resulted in thawing of the permafrost. At 16.0 cal. ka BP moisture availability increased, representing an initial monsoonal intensification. Warmer conditions between 13.0 and 12.4 cal. ka BP and cooler conditions between 12.4 cal. ka BP and the onset of the Holocene reflect the Bølling‐Allerød and Younger Dryas. At the onset of the Holocene moisture availability rapidly increased, with moisture highest prior to 8.5 cal. ka BP when temperatures were also highest. After 8.5 cal. ka BP the moisture availability gradually decreased and showed only minor amplitude variations. These findings are consistent with the records from large lakes like Nam Co, Tso Moriri, and Naleng Co, revealing a synchronous pattern of moisture availability on the southern Tibetan Plateau.     

Holocene environmental history of a freshwater wetland in southern Louisiana: a sedimentary record of delta development,coastal evolution and human activity

The world's most extensive and active deltas, Louisiana's wetlands, are deteriorating rapidly due to multiple stressors. Their ecological and anthropogenic histories on a multimillennial timescale have not been thoroughly documented. This study investigates hydrological and anthropogenic impacts on southern Louisiana wetlands to guide future efforts toward environmental restoration. A 3.6 m sediment core (JOYWMA) extracted from a freshwater wetland adjacent to Lake Pontchartrain yielded a 5000-year record. Multiproxy data indicate four distinct stages, with the earliest period representing an oyster reef (~4.5 cal yr bp ) marked by elevated Ca and Sr concentrations. Evolution to a freshwater marsh occurred 4.5–4.0 cal yr bp during the St. Bernard delta progradation, marked by increased Zr and Br concentrations. The site transitioned to a lake due to the isolation from the St. Bernard delta and local subsidence (4.0–2.0 cal yr bp ), marked by increased Ti, Fe, Mn and K concentrations. The site altered to a cypress swamp after 2.0 cal yr bp due to increased sediment supply during the St. Bernard subdelta progradation. Both natural (delta progradation and subsidence) and anthropogenic (fire, deforestation) stressors have impacted the site over the last 4500 years. Delta-switching of the Mississippi River caused the significant geomorphological and ecological changes.     

A mid to late Holocene record of palaeoclimatic changes from Nal Sarovar: a palaeodesert margin lake in western India

With a view to obtain palaeoclimatic data from a climatically sensitive region we have studied core samples from Nal Sarovar, a large shallow lake lying within the palaeodesert margin of Thar in western India. A combination of C/N ratios and δ¹³C on a radiocarbon-dated core section have been used as climatic proxies. A high-resolution record extending back to ca. 6.6 ka BP has been reconstructed. The data indicate that, in the past, climate has varied from drier to wetter than present on time-scales of few hundreds to few thousands of years. There are, however, significant differences on the timing of these wet and dry periods, when compared with the available data from lakes farther north, in Rajasthan. Further, it looks unlikely that during the 6.6 ka the catchment areas of Nal Sarovar experienced such a significant increase in rainfall as has been suggested for the Rajasthan lakes. Interestingly, drier periods in Nal Sarovar data appear to correlate well with periods of glacier expansion in Eurasia indicating that the palaeoclimatic variations recorded in Nal Sarovar are a regional feature. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

中国淡水湖泊沉积物地球化学背景与环境质量基准建立的思考

利用中国150余个淡水湖泊表层沉积物和深层沉积物的地球化学数据,采用中位数绝对中位差的方法统计获得了中国主要淡水湖泊沉积物的As、Cd、Cr、Cu、Hg、Ni、Pb、Zn、TN、TP、TOC及pH的地球化学背景值,为我国湖泊沉积物环境质量基准的建立和湖泊生态环境质量监管提供了重要依据。统计结果表明,我国表层湖泊沉积物中的As、Cd、Hg等重金属元素以及TP、TOC等发生了显著富集,显示出强烈的人类活动对湖泊沉积物环境质量的改变。在探讨国外环境质量基准值对我国淡水湖泊沉积物环境质量评价适应性的基础上,提出直接采用国外相关标准还不能客观评价我国湖泊沉积物的污染程度和生态风险,应充分考虑我国湖泊沉积物的地球化学背景,建立适应我国情况的沉积物环境质量基准。     

Climate change and human occupation in the northernmost Chilean Altiplano over the last ca. 11 500 cal. a BP

This interdisciplinary study represents an approximation towards understanding how regional human cultural systems may have been affected by climate change in the northernmost Chilean Altiplano (>3600 m) over the last ca. 11 500 cal a BP. We compare the archaeological record from Hakenasa cave with the lake record from Lago Chungará sediment cores, located 50 km to the south. By integrating both of these archives in conjunction with regional palaeoclimate and archaeological data, we provide new evidence for the role of changing environmental and climatic conditions in human settlement patterns. The first human occupation of the entire Altiplano occurs at Hakenasa and is dated to 9980 ± 40 ¹⁴C a BP (11 265–11 619 cal. a BP), and took place under wetter regional climate conditions. An archaeologically sterile deposit occurs at Hakenasa between 7870 and 6890 cal. a BP. Constituted by sands and gravels, these sediments are interpreted as a flood event. This time period is synchronous with alternating short dry and wet events recorded in the Lake Chungará sedimentary sequence. Human activity resumes and increases in importance at Hakenasa by ca. 6000 cal. a BP. This corresponds to wetter conditions indicated by the Chungará record. Even though the lake record indicates intense volcanic activity over the last 6000 cal. a BP, this had little or no impact on the human population present at Hakenasa. This study shows that even in this extreme environment human settlement patterns do not always respond in a linear fashion to environmental change. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Paleoenvironmental changes in the northern shelf of the Sea of Okhotsk during the Holocene

The combined micropaleontological (spores and pollen, diatoms, benthic foraminifers), lithologic, and isotopic-geochemical analysis of sediments from the northern shelf of the Sea of Okhotsk recovered by hydrostatic corer from the depth of 140 mbsl elucidated environmental changes in this part of the basin and adjacent land areas during the last 12.7 thousands cal. years. Geochronological scale of the core is established using the acceleration mass-spectrometry method for radiocarbon dating of benthic Foraminifera tests. The first insignificant warming in the northern part of the sea after glaciation occurred in the mid-Boreal time (9.6 ka ago) but not at the onset of the Holocene. The strongest warming in the region took place in the mid-Atlantic epoch to reach climatic optimum in the second half of the Subboreal (6 to 2.5 ka ago). A cooling in the northern shelf and adjacent land areas is established at the beginning of the Subatlantic (2.5 ka). A comparison of results obtained for Core 89211 with dated hydrological and climatic changes in central and southern parts of the Sea of Okhotsk (Gorbarenko et al., 2003, 2004) is used for a high-resolution analysis of climatic fluctuations in the study region and other areas of the basin during deglaciation and the Holocene.