Glacial and environmental changes over the last 60 000 years in the Polar Ural Mountains,Arctic Russia,inferred from a high‐resolution lake record and other observations from adjacent areas

Our knowledge about the glaciation history in the Russian Arctic has to a large extent been based on geomorphological mapping supplemented by studies of short stratigraphical sequences found in exposed sections. Here we present new geochronological data from the Polar Ural Mountains along with a high‐resolution sediment record from Bolshoye Shchuchye, the largest and deepest lake in the mountain range. Seismic profiles show that the lake contains a 160‐m‐thick sequence of unconsolidated lacustrine sediments. A well‐dated 24‐m‐long core from the southern end of the lake spans the last 24 cal. ka. From downward extrapolation of sedimentation rates we estimate that sedimentation started about 50–60 ka ago, most likely just after a large glacier had eroded older sediments from the basin. Terrestrial cosmogenic nuclide (TCN) exposure dating (¹⁰Be) of boulders and Optically Stimulated Luminescence (OSL) dating of sediments indicate that this part of the Ural Mountains was last covered by a coherent ice‐field complex during Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 4. A regrowth of the glaciers took place during a late stage of MIS 3, but the central valleys remained ice free until the present. The presence of small‐ and medium‐sized glaciers during MIS 2 is reflected by a sequence of glacial varves and a high sedimentation rate in the lake basin and likewise from ¹⁰Be dating of glacial boulders. The maximum extent of the mountain glaciers during MIS 2 was attained prior to 24 cal. ka BP. Some small present‐day glaciers, which are now disappearing completely due to climate warming, were only slightly larger during the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) as compared to AD 1953. A marked decrease in sedimentation rate around 18–17 cal. ka BP indicates that the glaciers then became smaller and probably disappeared altogether around 15–14 cal. ka BP.     

Holocene environmental history on the eastern slope of the Polar Ural Mountains, Russia

The Holocene environmental history of the eastern slope of the Polar Ural Mountains has been reconstructed using pollen, spores, algae and other microfossils from the Chernaya Gorka palsa section (67°05'N, 65°21'E, 170 m a.s.l.). An initial oligotrophic lake was formed at the study site c. 9800-9500 ¹⁴C yr BP. Although tundra communities dominated the vegetation in the area, birch and larch trees might have grown at lower elevations. Dry and disturbed soil habitats also occurred around the lake. Algae (mostly Pediastrum and Botryococcus) started to expand in the lake as climate gradually improved after c. 9500 ¹⁴C yr BP. However, the role of mosses (mostly Calliergon and Drepanocladus) was most important for the infilling of the lake basin. Increased temperatures and subsequent improvement of hydrological conditions resulted in vegetation changes: stands of willows developed rapidly and the role of tree birch in the local vegetation increased. The lake was completely filled at c. 8600 ¹⁴C yr BP. Peat accumulation started with Bryales mosses and, later, Sphagnum became dominant. Stands of Larix, Picea and Betula became well developed during the Boreal climate optimum. Tree birch began to spread into the tundra. Different Bryales mosses formed peat c. 8000-6500 ¹⁴C yr BP. Cyperaceae later became the main peat-forming element. Dense spruce canopies with Larix sibirica and Betula pubescens surrounded the study site during the Atlantic period, pointing to the warmest climate during the Holocene. Summer temperatures might have been up to 3-4°C higher than today. However, a decline of spruce and an increase of birch around 6700-6300 ¹⁴C yr BP may reflect some climate deterioration. There are no dated deposits younger than 6000 ¹⁴C yr BP. It is assumed that Subboreal climate deterioration resulted in the development of permafrost and formation of the palsa at the site. The deposits, now protruding above the surrounding terrain, were eroded by wind, water and cryogenic processes.     

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.     

Temperatures of the past 2000 years inferred from lake sediments,southwest Yukon Territory,Canada

Lake sediments from four sites in the southwest Yukon Territory, Canada, provided paleotemperature records for the past 2000 yr. An alpine and a forest site from the southeastern portion of the study area, near Kluane Lake, and another alpine-forest pair of lakes from the Donjek River area located to the northwest yielded chironomid records that were used to provide quantitative estimates of mean July air temperature. Prior to AD 800, the southwest Yukon was relatively cool whereas after AD 800 temperatures were more variable, with warmer conditions between ~ AD 1100 and 1400, cooler conditions during the Little Ice Age (~ AD 1400 to 1850), and warming thereafter. These records compare well with other paleoclimate evidence from the region.     

Vegetation and climate changes over the last 30 000 years on the Leizhou Peninsula,southern China,inferred from the pollen record of Huguangyan Maar Lake

A pollen record from Huguangyan Maar Lake documents regional palaeovegetation and palaeoclimate changes in southern China over the last 30 000 years. Huguangyan Maar Lake is located close to the South China Sea (SCS) coastline and is influenced by the East Asian Monsoon (EAM). The pollen assemblages show a succession of vegetation and climate changes. During the Last Glaciation, 30–15.8 cal. ka BP, the Huguangyan area was dominated by subtropical evergreen‐deciduous forest with grassland surrounding the lake, indicating a colder and drier climate than today. During 15.8–11 cal. ka BP, the study area experienced several climatic fluctuations. From 11 to 2 cal. ka BP, the climate shifted to warmer and wetter conditions. After the Holocene Optimum in the early Holocene, the temperature and precipitation decreased. The sediment record of the last 2000 years cannot be used to interpret natural palaeoclimate changes due to the intense anthropogenic influences. Overall, however, the Huguangyan pollen archive highlights the rapid responses of subtropical vegetation to insolation changes in southern China.     

The Lastglacial and Holocene seismostratigraphy and sediment distribution of Lake Bolshoye Shchuchye,Polar Ural Mountains,Arctic Russia

Seismostratigraphical studies of the 11.8‐km²‐large and ~140‐m‐deep Lake Bolshoye Shchuchye, Polar Ural Mountains, reveal up to 160‐m‐thick acoustically laminated sediments in the lake basin. Using a dense grid of seismic lines, the spatial and temporal distributions of the sedimentary history have been reconstructed. Three regional seismic horizons have been identified and correlated with the well‐dated 24‐m‐long sediment core retrieved from the lake. Isopach maps constructed from the seismic data show four phases of sedimentation. A contour map of the deepest regional seismic reflector represents the earliest hemipelagic sedimentation in the lake. Three contour maps represent time intervals covering the last 23 cal. ka based on the well‐dated core stratigraphy from the lake. The detailed time constraints on the upper stratigraphical units in the lake allow calculation of the lake's development in terms of sediment fluxes and the denudation rates from the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) to the present. The sedimentation in Lake Bolshoye Shchuchye has been dominated by hemipelagic processes during at least the last 24 cal. ka BP only locally interrupted by delta progradation and slope processes. A major shift in the sediment accumulation at c. 18.7 cal. ka BP is interpreted to mark the end of the local glacial maximum, greatly reduced denudation and the onset of the deglaciation period; this also demonstrates how fast the glaciers melted and possibly disappeared at the end of the LGM. The denudation rate during the Holocene is only a fifth of the LGM rate. The age of the oldest stratified sediments in Lake Bolshoye Shchuchye is not well constrained, but estimated as c. 50–60 ka.     

Long-term river discharge and multidecadal climate variability inferred from varved sediments, southwest Alaska

Sedimentological analyses of 289 years (AD 1718-2006) of varved sediment from Shadow Bay, southwest Alaska, were used to investigate hydroclimate variability during and prior to the instrumental period. Varve thicknesses relate most strongly to total annual discharge (r² = 0.75, n = 43, p < 0.0001). Maximum annual grain size depends most strongly on maximum spring daily discharge (r² = 0.63, n = 43, p < 0.0001) and maximum annual daily discharge (r² = 0.61, n = 43, p < 0.0001), while varve thickness is poorly correlated with maximum annual grain size (r² = 0.004, n = 287, p = 0.33). Relations between varve thickness and annual climate variables (temperature, precipitation, North Pacific (NP) and Pacific Decadal Oscillation (PDO) indices) are insignificant. On multidecadal timescales, however, regime shifts in varve thickness and total annual discharge coincide with shifts in NP and PDO indices. Periods with increased varve thickness and total annual discharge were associated with warm PDO phases and a strengthened Aleutian Low. The varve-inferred record of PDO suggests that any periodicity in the PDO varied over time, and that the early 19th century marked a transition to a more frequent or detectable shifts.     

Extending the known distribution of the Vedde Ash into Siberia: occurrence in lake sediments from the Timan Ridge and the Ural Mountains,northern Russia

Tephra shards from the Vedde Ash eruption have been identified in two lakes from northwestern Russia and the Polar Ural Mountains. This is the most distal and easternmost occurrence of this regional tephra marker horizon found so far and it extends the area of the Vedde Ash tephra more than 1700 km further east than previously documented. This means that particles the size of fine sand have travelled more than 4000 km from the Katla volcano source, south Iceland. These findings offer a new possibility to correlate archives over a very long distance in the time period around the Younger Dryas.     

High‐Arctic climate conditions for the last 7000 years inferred from multi‐proxy analysis of the Bliss Lake record,North Greenland

The Arctic is more vulnerable to climate change than are mid latitudes. Therefore, palaeolimnological studies from the High Arctic are important in providing insights into the dynamics of the climate system. Here we present a multi‐proxy study from one of the world's northernmost lakes: Bliss Lake, Peary Land, Greenland. The early Holocene (10 850–10 480 cal. a BP) is characterized by increased erosion and gradually more marine conditions. Full marine conditions developed from 10 480 cal. a BP until the lake was isolated at 7220 cal. a BP. From its marine isolation at 7220 cal. a BP Bliss Lake becomes a lacustrine environment. Evidence from geochemical proxies (δ¹³C and total organic carbon) suggests that warmer conditions prevailed between 7220 and 6500 cal. a BP, corresponding to the Holocene thermal maximum, and from 3300 until 910 cal. a BP. From 850 to 500 cal. a BP colder climate conditions persisted. The transition from warmer to colder climate conditions taking place around 850 cal. a BP may be associated with the transition from the Medieval Warm Period to the Little Ice Age. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Palaeoflood activity and climate change over the last 1400 years recorded by lake sediments in the north‐west European Alps

A high‐resolution sedimentological and geochemical study of a high‐altitude proglacial lake (Lake Blanc, Aiguilles Rouges, 2352 m a.s.l.) revealed 195 turbidites, 190 of which are related to flood events over the last 1400 years. We used the coarsest sediment fraction of each turbidite as a proxy for the intensity of each flood event. Because most flood events at this locality are triggered by localized summer convective precipitation events, the reconstructed sedimentary record reveals changes in the frequency and intensity of such events over the last millennium. Comparisons with other temperature, palaeohydrological and glacier reconstructions in the region suggest that the most intense events occurred during the warmest periods, i.e. during the Medieval Climate Anomaly (AD 800–1300) and the current period of global warming. On a multi‐decadal time scale, almost all the flood frequency peaks seem to correspond to warmer periods, whereas multi‐centennial variations in flood frequency appear to follow the regional precipitation pattern. Consequently, this new Alpine flood record provides further evidence of a link between climate warming and an increase in the frequency and intensity of flooding on a multi‐decadal time scale, whereas the centennial variability in flood frequencies is related to regional precipitation patterns. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Environmental changes during the past 2000 years in north-central Wisconsin: Analysis of pollen,charcoal, and seeds from varved lake sediments

A 2000-year accumulation of varved sediments from Hell's Kitchen Lake in north-central Wisconsin was analyzed for pollen, charcoal, and seeds. The varves provided an accurate time scale for the study. The pollen record indicates changes on two different time scales. Short-term changes lasting several decades appear to be superimposed on long-term changes lasting several centuries. The short-term changes are related to individual fires, and the long-term changes result from increases or decreases in the frequency of these perturbations. From 2000 to 1150 years ago the average interval between fires was about 100 years, and from 1150 to 120 years ago the interval increased to about 140 years. Evidence from pollen, seeds, and charcoal at Hell's Kitchen Lake suggests that at least two “moist” intervals occurred during the past 2000 years, one between 2000 and 1700 years ago and the other between 600 and 100 years ago. A third but minor “moist” period occurred about 1150 to 850 years ago. A pollen and seed diagram shows that these intervals are characterized by increased percentages of white pine pollen, hemlock pollen, and yellow birch seeds, and by decreased levels of charcoal. The “dry” interval of 1700 to 1150 years ago is characterized by increased percentages of paper birch seeds, oak pollen, and aspen pollen, along with high levels of charcoal. The times of climatic change indicated at Hell's Kitchen Lake are nearly synchronous with those based on studies of tree rings, soils, glacial activity, and other pollen studies from various regions of North America, but the direction of these inferred changes is not always the same. This result suggests that the long-wave pattern of the general circulation has been variable during the past 2000 years.     

Surface ocean temperatures in the north-east Atlantic during the last 500 000 years: evidence from foraminiferal census data

Abstract Changes in North Atlantic sea surface temperature (SST) are regarded as a key element of the climate during the Quaternary. However, there are relatively few long-term records providing quantitative SST estimates from this region. Using planktic foraminiferal-derived SSTs together with changes on species level and iceberg-rafted debris, the last 500 ka were studied. Pronounced SST changes, as determined from the last glacial–interglacial cycle, characterize most colder periods. Peak interglacial temperatures were found for marine isotope stages (MIS) 1, 5e and 11, the latter two being the warmest. The warm substages within MIS 7 and 9 are marked by enhanced dissimilarity coefficients, indicating that SSTs obtained for these times appear to be overestimated. This is corroborated by differences within the species assemblage, which show enhanced cold water components. It is therefore concluded that detailed analysis down to species level is a crucial prerequisite to better reconstructions of SST.     

Palaeoceanographic evolution of the SW Svalbard shelf over the last 14 000 years

The palaeoceanographic evolution of the SW Svalbard shelf west of Hornsund over the last 14 000 years was reconstructed using benthic foraminiferal assemblages, stable oxygen and carbon isotopes, and grain‐size and ice‐rafted debris data. The results reveal the complexity of the feedbacks influencing the shelf environment: the inflow of Atlantic and Arctic waters (AW and ArW, respectively), and the influence of sea ice and tidewater glaciers. The inflow of subsurface AW onto the shelf gradually increased with the first major intrusion at the end of the Bølling‐Allerød. During the Younger Dryas, the shelf was affected by fresh water originating from sea ice and glacier discharge. Glaciomarine conditions prevailed until the earliest Holocene with the intense deliveries of icebergs and meltwater from retreating glaciers and the occasional penetration of AW onto the shelf. Other major intrusions of AW occurred before and after the Preboreal oscillation (early Holocene), which resulted in more dynamic and open‐water conditions. Between 10.5 and 9.7 cal. ka BP, the shelf environment transformed from glaciomarine to open marine conditions. Between c. 9.7 and 6.1 cal. ka BP the AW advection reached its maximum, resulting in a highly dynamic and productive environment. At c. 6.1 cal. ka BP, the inflow of AW onto the Svalbard shelf decreased due to the intensification of the Greenland Gyre and the subduction of AW under the sea‐ice‐bearing ArW. Bioproductivity decreased over the next c. 5500 years. During the Little Ice Age, bioproductivity increased due to favourable conditions in the marginal sea‐ice zone despite the effects of cooling. The renewed advection of AW after AD 1850 started the climate warming trend observed presently. Our findings show that δ¹⁸O can be used to reconstruct the dominances of different water‐masses and, with some caution, as a proxy for the presence of sea ice in frontal areas over the northwestern Eurasian shelves.     

8000 years of vegetation history in the northern Iberian Peninsula inferred from the palaeoenvironmental study of the Zalama ombrotrophic bog (Basque‐Cantabrian Mountains,Spain)

This paper focuses on pollen, spores, non‐pollen palynomorphs (NPPs) and certain geochemical elements from the ombrotrophic blanket bog of Zalama (Basque‐Cantabrian Mountains, northern Iberian Peninsula), with the support of a robust chronology based on 17 AMS ¹⁴C dates. The main results related to the last 8000 years show that, during the early middle Holocene, pines and deciduous forests were the most extensive tree formations. At the beginning of the succession, pines reach 44%, showing regional presence, whereas after 7600 cal. a BP, deciduous forests were particularly abundant. From c. 6500 cal. a BP the pollen diagram constructed from our samples shows the first anthropogenic evidence, linked with the new economic practices related to the Neolithic of the Basque‐Cantabrian Mountains. From 3300 cal. a BP the expansion of Fagus sylvatica is particularly clear, and has since then become one of the dominant forest species in this region. We also discuss the Holocene evolution of other noteworthy plant communities in southwestern Europe, such as Taxus baccata, Juglans and shrublands.     

Climate variability and glacial processes in eastern Iceland during the past 700 years based on varved lake sediments

Striberger, J., Björck, S., Ingólfsson, Ó., Kjær, K. H., Snowball, I. & Uvo, C. B. 2010: Climate variability and glacial processes in eastern Iceland during the past 700 years based on varved lake sediments. Boreas, 10.1111/j.1502‐3885.2010.00153.x. ISSN 0300‐9483. Properties of varved sediments from Lake Lögurinn in eastern Iceland and their link to climate and glacial processes of Eyjabakkajökull, an outlet glacier of the Vatnajökull icecap, were examined. A varve chronology, which covers the period AD 1262–2005, was constructed from visual observations, high‐resolution images, X‐ray density and geochemical properties determined from X‐radiography and X‐ray fluorescence scanning. Independent dating provided by ¹³⁷Cs analysis and eight historical tephras verify the varve chronology. The thickness of dark‐coloured seasonal laminae, formed mainly of coarser suspended matter from the non‐glacial river Grímsá, is positively correlated (r=0.70) with winter precipitation, and our 743‐year‐long varve series indicates that precipitation was higher and more varied during the later part of the Little Ice Age. Light‐coloured laminae thickness, controlled mainly by the amount of finer suspended matter from the glacial river Jökulsáí Fljótsdal, increased significantly during the AD 1972 surge of Eyjabakkajökull. As a consequence of the surge, the ice‐dammed Lake Háöldulón formed and recurrently drained and delivered significant amounts of rock flour to Lake Lögurinn. Based on these observations, and the recurring cyclic pattern of periods of thicker light‐coloured laminae in the sediment record, we suggest that Eyjabakkajökull has surged repeatedly during the past 743 years, but with an increased frequency during the later part of the Little Ice Age.     

内蒙古中东部查干淖尔湖流域7000年以来的气候演变

内蒙古中东部处于亚洲季风与西风带的过渡带上,对于季风强弱以及全球气候变化响应敏感。本文以内蒙古中东部查干淖尔湖为研究对象,采用该湖沉积剖面的AMS ¹⁴C测年、烧失量、粒度及端元组分等指标的分析,重建了近7000年以来内蒙古中东部地区的气候演变序列。结果表明,千年尺度上,7000年以来研究区气候逐步变干,但6900~5800cal.a B.P.和4500~2000cal.a B.P.期间气候相对湿润,5800~4500cal.a B.P.和2000~0cal.a B.P.时期气候干旱。中晚全新世以来千年尺度上的气候总体变干,与太阳辐射的逐步降低引起的东亚季风的减弱有关。百年尺度上,查干淖尔湖经历了5次较为明显的干旱事件,分别发生于5800~4700cal.a B.P.、3500~3100cal.a B.P.、2600~2100cal.a B.P.、1700~1200cal.a B.P.和560~370cal.a B.P.,这些干旱事件的发生,在定年误差范围内,与太阳活动减弱事件和北大西洋冰漂碎屑事件基本一致,表明百年尺度上东亚季风强度的变化受北半球高纬气候和太阳活动的共同影响。

     

Holocene climate inferred from glacier extent,lake sediment and tree rings at Goat Lake,Kenai Mountains,Alaska, USA

Lake sediment, glacier extent and tree rings were used to reconstruct Holocene climate changes from Goat Lake at 550 m asl in the Kenai Mountains, south‐central Alaska. Radiocarbon‐dated sediment cores taken at 55 m water depth show glacial‐lacustrine conditions until about 9500 cal. yr BP, followed by organic‐rich sedimentation with an overall increasing trend in organic matter and biogenic silica content leading up to the Little Ice Age (LIA). Through most of the Holocene, the northern outlet of the Harding Icefield remained below the drainage divide that currently separates it from Goat Lake. A sharp transition from gyttja to inorganic mud about AD 1660 signifies the reappearance of glacier meltwater into Goat Lake during the LIA, marking the maximum Holocene (postglacial) extent. Meltwater continued to discharge into the lake until about AD 1900. A 207 yr tree‐ring series from 25 mountain hemlocks growing in the Goat Lake watershed correlates with other regional tree‐ring series that indicate an average summer temperature reduction of about 1°C during the 19th century compared with the early–mid 20th century. Cirque glaciers around Goat Lake reached their maximum LIA extent in the late 19th century. Assuming that glacier equilibrium‐line altitudes (ELA) are controlled solely by summer temperature, then the cooling of 1°C combined with the local environmental lapse rate would indicate an ELA lowering of 170 m. In contrast, reconstructed ELAs of 12 cirque glaciers near Goat Lake average only 34 ± 18 m lower during the LIA. The restricted ELA lowering can be explained by a reduction in accumulation‐season precipitation caused by a weakening of the Aleutian low‐pressure system during the late LIA. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Sedimentary evolution and environmental history of Lake Van (Turkey) over the past 600 000 years

The lithostratigraphic framework of Lake Van, eastern Turkey, has been systematically analysed to document the sedimentary evolution and the environmental history of the lake during the past ca 600 000 years. The lithostratigraphy and chemostratigraphy of a 219 m long drill core from Lake Van serve to separate global climate oscillations from local factors caused by tectonic and volcanic activity. An age model was established based on the climatostratigraphic alignment of chemical and lithological signatures, validated by ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar ages. The drilled sequence consists of ca 76% lacustrine carbonaceous clayey silt, ca 2% fluvial deposits, ca 17% volcaniclastic deposits and 5% gaps. Six lacustrine lithotypes were separated from the fluvial and event deposits, such as volcaniclastics (ca 300 layers) and graded beds (ca 375 layers), and their depositional environments are documented. These lithotypes are: (i) graded beds frequently intercalated with varved clayey silts reflecting rising lake levels during the terminations; (ii) varved clayey silts reflecting strong seasonality and an intralake oxic–anoxic boundary, for example, lake‐level highstands during interglacials/interstadials; (iii) CaCO₃‐rich banded sediments which are representative of a lowering of the oxic–anoxic boundary, for example, lake level decreases during glacial inceptions; (iv) CaCO₃‐poor banded and mottled clayey silts reflecting an oxic–anoxic boundary close to the sediment–water interface, for example, lake‐level lowstands during glacials/stadials; (v) diatomaceous muds were deposited during the early beginning of the lake as a fresh water system; and (vi) fluvial sands and gravels indicating the initial flooding of the lake basin. The recurrence of lithologies (i) to (iv) follows the past five glacial/interglacial cycles. A 20 m thick disturbed unit reflects an interval of major tectonic activity in Lake Van at ca 414 ka bp . Although local environmental processes such as tectonic and volcanic activity influenced sedimentation, the lithostratigraphic pattern and organic matter content clearly reflect past global climate changes, making Lake Van an outstanding terrestrial archive of unprecedented sensitivity for the reconstruction of the regional climate over the last 600 000 years.     

50,000 years of vegetation and climate history on the Colorado Plateau, Utah and Arizona, USA

Sixty packrat middens were collected in Canyonlands and Grand Canyon National Parks, and these series include sites north of areas that produced previous detailed series from the Colorado Plateau. The exceptionally long time series obtained from each of three sites (> 48,000 ¹⁴C yr BP to present) include some of the oldest middens yet discovered. Most middens contain a typical late-Wisconsinan glaciation mixture of mesic and xeric taxa, evidence that plant species responded to climate change by range adjustments of elevational distribution based on individual criteria. Differences in elevational range from today for trees and shrubs ranged from no apparent change to as much as 1200 m difference. The oldest middens from Canyonlands NP, however, differ in containing strictly xeric assemblages, including middens incorporating needles of Arizona single-leaf pinyon, far north of its current distribution. Similar-aged middens from the eastern end of Grand Canyon NP contain plants more typical of glacial climates, but also contain fossils of one-seed juniper near its current northern limit in Arizona. Holocene middens reveal the development of modern vegetation assemblages on the Colorado Plateau, recording departures of mesic taxa from low elevation sites, and the arrival of modern dominant components much later.     

Vegetation,fire, and climate history of the northwestern Great Basin during the last 14,000 years

The northwestern Great Basin lies in the transition zone between the mesic Pacific Northwest and xeric intermountain West. The paleoenvironmental history based on pollen, macroscopic charcoal, and plant macrofossils from three sites in the northwestern Great Basin was examined to understand the relationships among the modern vegetation, fire disturbance and climate. The vegetation history suggests that steppe and open forest communities were present at high elevations from ca 11,000 to 7000 cal yr BP, and were replaced by forests composed of white fir, western white pine, and whitebark pine in the late Holocene. Over the last 11,000 years, fires were more frequent in mid-elevation forests (10–25 fire episodes/1000 years) and rare in high-elevation forests (2–5 fire episodes/1000 years). Applying modern pollen–climate relationships to the fossil pollen spectra provided a means to interpret past climate changes in this region. In the past 9000 years summer temperatures decreased from 1 to 4 °C, and annual precipitation has increased 7–15%. These results indicate that the millennial-scale climate forcing driving vegetation changes can be quantified within the intermountain West in general and northwestern Great Basin in particular. In addition, fire can be considered an important component of these ecosystems, but it does not appear to be a forcing mechanism for vegetation change at the resolution of these records.