Quantitative paleotemperature estimates from δ18O of chironomid head capsules preserved in arctic lake sediments |
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Authors: | Matthew J Wooller Donna Francis Marilyn L Fogel Gifford H Miller Ian R Walker Alexander P Wolfe |
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Institution: | 1. Geophysical Laboratory, Carnegie Institution of Washington, Washington, DC, 20015-1305, USA 2. Department of Geosciences, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA, 01003, USA 3. INSTAAR and Department of Geological Sciences, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO, 80309-0450, USA 4. Department of Biology and Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Okanagan University College, Kelowna, BC V1V 1V7, Canada 5. Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB T6G 2E3, Canada
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Abstract: | A paleoenvironmental perspective of temperature change is paramount to understanding the significance of recent warming in the Arctic. Late Quaternary sediments from many arctic lakes provide environmental archives with decadal resolution, but reconstructions are hampered by the relative insensitivity of many traditional proxies to temperature. Here, we show that the δ18O of head capsules of chironomid larvae are equilibrated with the δ18O of lakewaters in which they live. In suitable lakes, lakewater δ18O is controlled by the δ18O of local precipitation, which is strongly correlated to mean annual air temperature (MAT). From this correlation, chironomid δ18O can be used to examine past changes in MAT. We illustrate the potential of this novel approach to paleothermometry with examples from two arctic lakes that reveal strong regional paleoclimatic gradients in the early Holocene. |
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Keywords: | Arctic Chironomids Paleoecology Stable oxygen isotopes Temperature |
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