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Past climatic change can be reconstructed from sedimentary archives by a number of proxies. However, few methods exist to directly estimate hydrological changes and even fewer result in quantitative data, impeding our understanding of the timing, magnitude and mechanisms of hydrological changes. Here we present a novel approach based on delta H-2 values of sedimentary lipid biomarkers in combination with plant physiological modeling to extract quantitative information on past changes in relative humidity. Our initial application to an annually laminated lacustrine sediment sequence from western Europe deposited during the Younger Dryas cold period revealed relative humidity changes of up to 15% over sub-centennial timescales, leading to major ecosystem changes, in agreement with palynological data from the region. We show that by combining organic geochemical methods and mechanistic plant physiological models on well characterized lacustrine archives it is possible to extract quantitative ecohydrological parameters from sedimentary lipid biomarker delta H-2 data.
The first 1400-year floating varve chronology for north-eastern Germany covering the late Allered to the early Holocene has been established by microscopic varve counts from the Rehwiese palaeolake sediment record. The Laacher See Tephra (LST), at the base of the studied interval, forms the tephrochronological anchor point. The fine laminations were examined using a combination of micro-facies and mu XRF analyses and are typical of calcite varves, which in this case provide mainly a warm season signal. Two varve types with different sub-layer structures have been distinguished: (I) complex varves consisting of up to four seasonal sub-layers formed during the Allered and early Holocene periods, and, (II) simple two sub-layer type varves only occurring during the Younger Dryas. The precision of the chronology has been improved by varve-to-varve comparison of two independently analyzed sediment profiles based on well-defined micro-marker layers. This has enabled both (1) the precise location of single missing varies in one of the sediment profiles, and, (2) the verification of varve interpolation in disturbed varve intervals in the parallel core. Inter-annual and decadal-scale variability in sediment deposition processes were traced by multi-proxy data series including seasonal layer thickness, high-resolution element scans and total organic and inorganic carbon data at a five-varve resolution. These data support the idea of a two-phase Younger Dryas, with the first interval (12,675-12,275 varve years BP) characterised by a still significant but gradually decreasing warm-season calcite precipitation and a second phase (12,275-11,690 varve years BP) with only weak calcite precipitation. Detailed correlation of these two phases with the Meerfelder Maar record based on the LST isochrone and independent varve counts provides clues about regional differences and seasonal aspects of YD climate change along a transect from a location proximal to the North Atlantic in the west to a more continental site in the east
The regional patterns and timing of the Younger Dryas cooling in the North Atlantic realm were complex and are mechanistically incompletely understood. To enhance understanding of regional climate patterns, we present molecular biomarker records at subannual to annual resolution by mass spectrometry imaging (MSI) of sediments from the Lake Meerfelder Maar covering the Allerod-Younger Dryas transition. These analyses are supported by conventional extraction-based molecular-isotopic analyses, which both validate the imaging results and constrain the sources of the target compounds. The targeted fatty acid biomarkers serve as a gauge of the response of the local aquatic and terrestrial ecosystem to climate change. Based on the comparison of our data with existing data from Meerfelder Maar, we analyse the short-term environmental evolution in Western Europe during the studied time interval and confirm the previously reported delayed hydrological response to Greenland cooling. However, despite a detected delay of Western European environmental change of similar to 135 years, our biomarker data show statistically significant correlation with deuterium excess in Greenland ice core at - annual resolution during this time-transgressive cooling. This suggests a coherent atmospheric forcing across the North Atlantic realm during this transition. We propose that Western European cooling was postponed due to major reorganization of the westerlies that were intermittently forcing warmer and wetter air masses from lower latitudes to Western Europe and thus resulted in delayed cooling relative to Greenland.
The general warming trend of the last deglaciation was interrupted by the Younger Dryas, a period of abrupt cooling and widespread environmental change(1-10). Ice core records suggest the abrupt cooling began 12,846 years ago in Greenland(10), about 170 years before the significant environmental and vegetation change in western Europe(7) classically defined as the Younger Dryas. However, this difference in timing falls within age model uncertainties. Here we use the hydrogen isotope composition of lipid biomarkers from precisely dated varved sediments from Lake Meerfelder Maar to reconstruct hydroclimate over western Europe. We observe a decrease in the hydrogen isotope values of both aquatic and terrestrial lipids 12,850 years ago, indicating cooling climate in this region synchronous with the abrupt cooling in Greenland. A second drop occurs 170 years later, mainly in the hydrogen isotope record of aquatic lipids but to a lesser extent in the terrestrial lipids, which we attribute to aridification, as well as a change in moisture source and pathway. We thus confirm that there was indeed a lag between cooling and substantial hydrologic and environmental change in western Europe. We suggest the delay is related to the expansion of sea ice in the North Atlantic Ocean and the subsequent southward migration of the westerly wind system(9). We further suggest that these hydrological changes amplified environmental change in western Europe at the onset of the Younger Dryas.
Based on results of previous investigations of tephra-tuff volcaniclastic deposits and a geophysical survey in the surroundings of the Zelezna hurka Quaternary volcano, West Bohemia, we performed detailed geophysical Surveys using gravimetry, magnetometry and electrical conductivity techniques. Striking anomalies were revealed in a morphological depression near Mytina, West Bohemia, as a strong evidence of the assumed maar-diatreme structure. The sharp isometric gravity low of -2.30 mGal, as well as the corresponding positive magnetic anomaly of 200 nT with a negative rim on its northern side indicate a steeply clipping geological body of low density and containing magnetic rocks/minerals. Magnetic survey also showed pronounced local anomalies outside the depression that can reflect relicts of the tephra rim of the maar. This geophysical evidence was then proven by an exploratory drilling near the centre of the gravity anomaly. Macroscopic on-site evaluation of the core, and more detailed sedimentological, petrochemical, palynological and microbiological laboratory analyses further confirmed the existence of a maar structure filled by 84 m of lake sediments reflecting a Succession of several warm and cold climatic periods. Results Of palynological analyses confirm the presence of a continuous palaeoclimate archive, with at least three successive warmer periods of most probably interstadial character from the upper Quaternary Saalian complex. Therefore. the recovered sediment sequence holds strong potential for in-depth palaeoclimate reconstruction and deep biosphere studies. At the bottom of the Mytina-1 (MY- 1) borehole (84-85.5 M), Country rock debris Was found, containing also volcanic bombs and lapilli. The discovered volcanic Structure is considered to be the first known Quaternary maar-diatreme volcano on the territory of the Bohemian Massif. Because of hidden active magmatic processes in combination with earthquake swarm seismicity ca. 20-30 km north of the Mytina maar, reconstruction of the palaeovolcanological evolution is important for evaluation of hazard potential of the NE and E Part of the Cheb Basin.
A potential human footprint on Western Central African rainforests before the Common Era has become the focus of an ongoing controversy. Between 3,000 y ago and 2,000 y ago, regional pollen sequences indicate a replacement of mature rainforests by a forest-savannah mosaic including pioneer trees. Although some studies suggested an anthropogenic influence on this forest fragmentation, current interpretations based on pollen data attribute the "rainforest crisis" to climate change toward a drier, more seasonal climate. A rigorous test of this hypothesis, however, requires climate proxies independent of vegetation changes. Here we resolve this controversy through a continuous 10,500-y record of both vegetation and hydrological changes from Lake Barombi in Southwest Cameroon based on changes in carbon and hydrogen isotope compositions of plant waxes. delta C-13-inferred vegetation changes confirm a prominent and abrupt appearance of C-4 plants in the Lake Barombi catchment, at 2,600 calendar years before AD 1950 (cal y BP), followed by an equally sudden return to rainforest vegetation at 2,020 cal y BP. delta D values from the same plant wax compounds, however, show no simultaneous hydrological change. Based on the combination of these data with a comprehensive regional archaeological database we provide evidence that humans triggered the rainforest fragmentation 2,600 y ago. Our findings suggest that technological developments, including agricultural practices and iron metallurgy, possibly related to the large-scale Bantu expansion, significantly impacted the ecosystems before the Common Era.
Reading the sediment record in terms of past climates is challenging since linking climate change to the associated responses of sedimentary systems is not always straightforward. Here we analyze the erosional response of landscapes on the Tibetan Plateau to interglacial climate forcing. Using the theory of dynamical systems on Holocene time series of geochemical proxies, we derive a sedimentary response model that accurately simulates observed proxy variation in three lake records. The model suggests that millennial variations in sediment composition reflect a self-organization of landscapes in response to abrupt climate change between 11.6 and 11.9 ka BP. The self-organization is characterized by oscillations in sediment supply emerging from a feedback between physical and chemical erosion processes, with estimated response times between 3,000 to 18,000 years depending on catchment topography. The implications of our findings emphasize the need for landscape response models to decipher the paleoclimatic code in continental sediment records. Plain Language Summary Lake sediments are an important source of information on past climates. Reading the information is not always straightforward. Complex interactions in landscapes can affect the transmission of climatic signals to the sediment record. However, the exact nature of such complex interactions remains unknown. This study compares sediment deposits of three lakes on the Tibetan Plateau. The deposits are continuous records of landscape responses to climate change during the last 12,000 years. We identified a mathematical model that accurately simulates changes in sediment composition at all sites. The model simulations suggest that an abrupt warming at the end of the last glacial period destabilized the landscapes. This caused fluctuations in the transport of sediments, which persisted for several thousand years. Our findings present evidence for a long-lasting impact of abrupt climate change on fundamental Earth surface processes.
Reading the sediment record in terms of past climates is challenging since linking climate change to the associated responses of sedimentary systems is not always straightforward. Here we analyze the erosional response of landscapes on the Tibetan Plateau to interglacial climate forcing. Using the theory of dynamical systems on Holocene time series of geochemical proxies, we derive a sedimentary response model that accurately simulates observed proxy variation in three lake records. The model suggests that millennial variations in sediment composition reflect a self-organization of landscapes in response to abrupt climate change between 11.6 and 11.9 ka BP. The self-organization is characterized by oscillations in sediment supply emerging from a feedback between physical and chemical erosion processes, with estimated response times between 3,000 to 18,000 years depending on catchment topography. The implications of our findings emphasize the need for landscape response models to decipher the paleoclimatic code in continental sediment records. Plain Language Summary Lake sediments are an important source of information on past climates. Reading the information is not always straightforward. Complex interactions in landscapes can affect the transmission of climatic signals to the sediment record. However, the exact nature of such complex interactions remains unknown. This study compares sediment deposits of three lakes on the Tibetan Plateau. The deposits are continuous records of landscape responses to climate change during the last 12,000 years. We identified a mathematical model that accurately simulates changes in sediment composition at all sites. The model simulations suggest that an abrupt warming at the end of the last glacial period destabilized the landscapes. This caused fluctuations in the transport of sediments, which persisted for several thousand years. Our findings present evidence for a long-lasting impact of abrupt climate change on fundamental Earth surface processes.
Flood estimation and flood management have traditionally been the domain of hydrologists, water resources engineers and statisticians, and disciplinary approaches abound. Dominant views have been shaped; one example is the catchment perspective: floods are formed and influenced by the interaction of local, catchment-specific characteristics, such as meteorology, topography and geology. These traditional views have been beneficial, but they have a narrow framing. In this paper we contrast traditional views with broader perspectives that are emerging from an improved understanding of the climatic context of floods. We come to the following conclusions: (1) extending the traditional system boundaries (local catchment, recent decades, hydrological/hydraulic processes) opens up exciting possibilities for better understanding and improved tools for flood risk assessment and management. (2) Statistical approaches in flood estimation need to be complemented by the search for the causal mechanisms and dominant processes in the atmosphere, catchment and river system that leave their fingerprints on flood characteristics. (3) Natural climate variability leads to time-varying flood characteristics, and this variation may be partially quantifiable and predictable, with the perspective of dynamic, climate-informed flood risk management. (4) Efforts are needed to fully account for factors that contribute to changes in all three risk components (hazard, exposure, vulnerability) and to better understand the interactions between society and floods. (5) Given the global scale and societal importance, we call for the organization of an international multidisciplinary collaboration and data-sharing initiative to further understand the links between climate and flooding and to advance flood research.
The new sediment record from the deep Dead Sea basin (ICDP core 5017-1) provides a unique archive for hydroclimatic variability in the Levant. Here, we present high-resolution sediment facies analysis and elemental composition by micro-X-ray fluorescence (mu XRF) scanning of core 5017-1 to trace lake levels and responses of the regional hydroclimatology during the time interval from ca. 117 to 75 ka, i. e. the transition between the last interglacial and the onset of the last glaciation. We distinguished six major micro-facies types and interpreted these and their alterations in the core in terms of relative lake level changes. The two end-member facies for highest and lowest lake levels are (a) up to several metres thick, greenish sediments of alternating aragonite and detrital marl laminae (aad) and (b) thick halite facies, respectively. Intermediate lake levels are characterised by detrital marls with varying amounts of aragonite, gypsum or halite, reflecting lower-amplitude, shorter-term variability. Two intervals of pronounced lake level drops occurred at similar to 110-108 +/- 5 and similar to 93-87 +/- 7 ka. They likely coincide with stadial conditions in the central Mediterranean (Melisey I and II pollen zones in Monticchio) and low global sea levels during Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 5d and 5b. However, our data do not support the current hypothesis of an almost complete desiccation of the Dead Sea during the earlier of these lake level low stands based on a recovered gravel layer. Based on new petrographic analyses, we propose that, although it was a low stand, this well-sorted gravel layer may be a vestige of a thick turbidite that has been washed out during drilling rather than an in situ beach deposit. Two intervals of higher lake stands at similar to 108-93 +/- 6 and similar to 87-75 +/- 7 ka correspond to interstadial conditions in the central Mediterranean, i. e. pollen zones St. Germain I and II in Monticchio, and Greenland interstadials (GI) 24+23 and 21 in Greenland, as well as to sapropels S4 and S3 in the Mediterranean Sea. These apparent correlations suggest a close link of the climate in the Levant to North Atlantic and Mediterranean climates during the time of the build-up of Northern Hemisphere ice shields in the early last glacial period.
One of the most significant Late Holocene climate shifts occurred around 2800 years ago, when cooler and wetter climate conditions established in western Europe. This shift coincided with an abrupt change in regional atmospheric circulation between 2760 and 2560 cal years BP, which has been linked to a grand solar minimum with the same duration (the Homeric Minimum). We investigated the temporal sequence of hydroclimatic and vegetation changes across this interval of climatic change (Homeric climate oscillation) by using lipid biomarker stable hydrogen isotope ratios (ED values) and pollen assemblages from the annually-laminated sediment record from lake Meerfelder Maar (Germany). Over the investigated interval (3200-2000 varve years BP), terrestrial lipid biomarker ED showed a gradual trend to more negative values, consistent with the western Europe long-term climate trend of the Late Holocene. At ca. 2640 varve years BP we identified a strong increase in aquatic plants and algal remains, indicating a rapid change in the aquatic ecosystem superimposed on this long-term trend. Interestingly, this aquatic ecosystem change was accompanied by large changes in ED values of aquatic lipid biomarkers, such as nC(21) and nC(23) (by between 22 and 30%(0)). As these variations cannot solely be explained by hydroclimate changes, we suggest that these changes in the Wag value were influenced by changes in n-alkane source organisms. Our results illustrate that if ubiquitous aquatic lipid biomarkers are derived from a limited pool of organisms, changes in lake ecology can be a driving factor for variations on sedimentary lipid MN values, which then could be easily misinterpreted in terms of hydro climatic changes. (C) 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Stable carbon isotopes of sediment organic matter (delta C-13(OM)) are widely applied in paleoenvironmental studies. Interpretations of delta C-13(OM), however, remain challenging and factors that influence delta C-13(OM) may not apply across all lakes. Common explanations for stratigraphic shifts in delta C-13(OM) include changes in lake productivity or changes in inputs of allochthonous OM. We investigated the influence of different oxygen conditions (oxic versus anoxic) on the delta C-13(OM) values in the sediments of Lake Tiefer See. We analysed (1) a long sediment core from the deepest part of the lake, (2) two short, sediment-water interface cores from shallower water depths, and (3) OM in the water column, i.e. from sediment traps. Fresh OM throughout the entire water column showed a relatively constant delta C-13(OM) value of approximately -30.5 parts per thousand. Similar values, about -31 parts per thousand, were obtained for well-varved sediments in both the long and short, sediment-water interface cores. In contrast, delta C-13(OM) values from non-varved sediments in all cores were significantly less negative (-29 parts per thousand). The delta C-13(OM) values in the sediment-water interface cores from different water depths differ for sediments of the same age, if oxygen conditions at the time of deposition were different at these sites, as suggested by the state of varve preservation. Sediments deposited from AD 1924 to 1980 at 62m water depth are varved and exhibit delta C-13(OM) values around -31 parts per thousand, whereas sediments of the same age in the core from 35m water depth are not varved and show less negative delta C-13(OM) values of about -29 parts per thousand. The relation between varve occurrence and delta C-13(OM) values suggests that delta C-13(OM) is associated with oxygen conditions because varve preservation depends on hypolimnetic anoxia. A mechanism that likely influences delta C-13(OM) is selective degradation of OM under oxic conditions, such that organic components with more negative delta C-13(OM) are preferably decomposed, leading to less negative delta C-13(OM) values in the remaining, undegraded OM pool. Greater decomposition of OM in non-varved sediments is supported by lower TOC concentrations in these deposits (similar to 5%) compared to well-varved sediments (similar to 15%). Even in lakes that display small variations in productivity and terrestrial OM input through time, large spatial and temporal differences in hypolimnetic oxygen concentrations may be an important factor controlling sediment delta C-13(OM).
Millennial-scale Dansgaard Oeschger (DO) variability at northern high latitudes has influenced climatic and environmental conditions in the Mediterranean during the last glacial period. There is evidence that the hemispheric transmission of the DO variability occurred at the end of DO event 25; however, the exact timing and the trigger that activated the environmental response in the Mediterranean remains incompletely understood. Here, we provide evidence that the clear millennial-scale teleconnection between Greenland and the Mediterranean started at similar to 111.4 ka BP and was initiated by a sub-millennial scale cooling in Greenland (GI-25b). High-resolution sediment proxies and the pollen record of Lago Grande di Monticchio (MON), Italy, reflect climatic instability during the last millennium of the last interglacial, which was characterised by a first and short cooling episode (MON 1) at 111.44 +/- 0.69 ka BP, coinciding with the Greenland cold sub-event GI-25b in duration and timing (within dating uncertainties). MON and Greenland (NorthGRIP ice core) also agree in recording a subsequent warm rebound phase that abruptly culminated in the stadial MON 2/GS-25, marking the transition into the last glacial period. Our results show that the GI-25b triggered an early environmental response at MON to centennial-scale climate change in Greenland as a prelude to the millennial-scale teleconnection that was maintained during the glacial period.
The Northeast German Lowland Observatory (TERENO-NE) was established to investigate the regional impact of climate and land use change. TERENO-NE focuses on the Northeast German lowlands, for which a high vulnerability has been determined due to increasing temperatures and decreasing amounts of precipitation projected for the coming decades. To facilitate in-depth evaluations of the effects of climate and land use changes and to separate the effects of natural and anthropogenic drivers in the region, six sites were chosen for comprehensive monitoring. In addition, at selected sites, geoarchives were used to substantially extend the instrumental records back in time. It is this combination of diverse disciplines working across different time scales that makes the observatory TERENO-NE a unique observation platform. We provide information about the general characteristics of the observatory and its six monitoring sites and present examples of interdisciplinary research activities at some of these sites. We also illustrate how monitoring improves process understanding, how remote sensing techniques are fine-tuned by the most comprehensive ground-truthing site DEMMIN, how soil erosion dynamics have evolved, how greenhouse gas monitoring of rewetted peatlands can reveal unexpected mechanisms, and how proxy data provides a long-term perspective of current ongoing changes.
While of higher plant origin, a specific source assignment of sedimentary leaf wax n-alkanes remains difficult. In addition, it is unknown how fast a changing catchment vegetation would be reflected in sedimentary leaf wax archives. In particular, for a quantitative interpretation of n-alkane C and H isotope ratios in terms of paleohydrological and paleoecological changes, a better understanding of transfer times and dominant sedimentary sources of leaf wax n-alkanes is required. In this study we tested to what extent compositional changes in leaf wax n-alkanes can be linked to known vegetation changes by comparison with high-resolution palynological data from the same archive. We analyzed leaf wax n-alkane concentrations and distributions in decadal resolution from a sedimentary record from Trzechowskie paleolake (TRZ, northern Poland), covering the Late Glacial to early Holocene (13 360-9940 yr BP). As an additional source indicator of targeted n-alkanes, compound-specific carbon isotopic data have been generated in lower time resolution. The results indicated rapid responses of n-alkane distribution patterns coinciding with major climatic and paleoecological transitions. We found a shift towards higher average chain length (ACL) values at the Allerod-Younger Dryas (YD) transition between 12 680 and 12 600 yr BP, co-evaled with a decreasing contribution of arboreal pollen (mainly Pinus and Betula) and a subsequently higher abundance of pollen derived from herbaceous plants (Poaceae, Cyperaceae, Artemisia), shrubs, and dwarf shrubs (Juniperus and Salix). The termination of the YD was characterized by a successive increase in n-alkane concentrations coinciding with a sharp decrease in ACL values between 11 580 and 11 490 yr BP, reflecting the expansion of woodland vegetation at the YD-Holocene transition. A gradual reversal to longer chain lengths after 11 200 yr BP, together with decreasing n-alkane concentrations, most likely reflects the early Holocene vegetation succession with a decline of Betula. These results show that n-alkane distributions reflect vegetation changes and that a fast (i.e., subdecadal) signal transfer occurred. However, our data also indicate that a standard interpretation of directional changes in biomarker ratios remains difficult. Instead, responses such as changes in ACL need to be discussed in the context of other proxy data. In addition, we find that organic geochemical data integrate different ecological information compared to pollen, since some gymnosperm genera, such as Pinus, produce only a very low amount of n-alkanes and for this reason their contribution may be largely absent from biomarker records. Our results demonstrate that a combination of palynological and n-alkane data can be used to infer the major sedimentary leaf wax sources and constrain leaf wax transport times from the plant source to the sedimentary sink and thus pave the way towards quantitative interpretation of compound-specific hydrogen isotope ratios for paleohydrological reconstructions.
Annually laminated (varved) lake sediments with intercalated detrital layers resulting from sedimentary input by runoff events are ideal archives to establish precisely dated records of past extreme runoff events. In this study, the mid- to late Holocene varved sediments of Lake Mondsee (Upper Austria) were analysed by combining sedimentological, geophysical and geochemical methods. This approach allows to distinguish two types of detrital layers related to different types of extreme runoff events (floods and debris flows) and to detect changes in flood activity during the last 7100 years. In total, 271 flood and 47 debris flow layers, deposited during spring and summer, were identified, which cluster in 18 main flood episodes (FE 1-18) with durations of 30-50 years each. These main flood periods occurred during the Neolithic (7100-7050 vyr BP and 6470-4450 vyr BP), the late Bronze Age and the early Iron Age (3300-3250 and 2800-2750 vyr BP), the late Iron Age (2050-2000 vyr BP), throughout the Dark Ages Cold Period (1500-1200 vyr BP), and at the end of the Medieval Warm Period and the Little Ice Age (810-430 vyr BP).
Summer flood episodes in Lake Mondsee are generally more abundant during the last 1500 years, often coinciding with major advances of Alpine glaciers. Prior to 1500 vyr BP, spring/summer floods and debris flows are generally less frequent, indicating a lower number of intense rainfall events that triggered erosion. In comparison with the increase of late Holocene flood activity in western and northwestern (NW) Europe, commencing already as early as 2800 yr BP, the hydro-meteorological shift in the Lake Mondsee region occurred much later. These time lags in the onset of increased hydrological activity might be either due to regional differences in atmospheric circulation pattern or to the sensitivity of the individual flood archives. The Lake Mondsee sediments represent the first precisely dated and several millennia long summer flood record for the northeastern (NE) Alps, a key region at the climatic boundary of Atlantic, Mediterranean and East European air masses, aiding a better understanding of regional and seasonal peculiarities of flood occurrence under changing climate conditions. (C) 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
From November 2006 to January 2010, a sediment trap that was cleared monthly was deployed in Lake Challa, a deep stratified freshwater lake on the eastern slope of Mt. Kilimanjaro in southern Kenya. Geochemical data from sediment trap samples were compared with a broad range of limnological and meteorological parameters to characterize the effect of single parameters on productivity and sedimentation processes in the crater basin. During the southern hemisphere summer (November-March), when the water temperature is high and the lake is biologically productive (nondiatom algae), calcite predominated in the sediment trap samples. During the "long rain" season (March-May) a small amount of organic matter and lithogenic material caused by rainfall appeared. This was followed by the cool and windy months of the southern hemisphere winter (June-October) when diatoms were the main component, indicating a diatom bloom initiated by improvement of nutrient availability related to upwelling processes. The sediment trap data support the hypothesis that the light-dark lamination couplets, which are abundant in Lake Challa cores, reflect seasonal delivery to the sediments of diatom-rich particulates during the windy months and diatom-poor material during the wet season. However, interannual and spatial variability in upwelling and productivity patterns, as well as El Nino-Southern Oscillation (ENSO)-related rainfall and drought cycles, exert a strong influence on the magnitude and geochemical composition of particle export to the hypolimnion of Lake Challa.
Many German lakes experienced significant water level declines in recent decades that are not fully understood due to the short observation period. At a typical northeastern German groundwater-fed lake with a complex basin morphology, an acoustic sub-bottom profile was analysed together with a transect of five sediment cores, which were correlated using multiple proxies (sediment facies, -XRF, macrofossils, subfossil Cladocera). Shifts in the boundary between sand and mud deposition were controlled by lake level changes, and hence, allowed the quantification of an absolute lake level amplitude of similar to 8m for the Holocene. This clearly exceeded observed modern fluctuations of 1.3m (AD 1973-2010). Past lake level changes were traced continuously using the calcium-record. During high lake levels, massive organic muds were deposited in the deepest lake basin, whereas lower lake levels isolated the sub-basins and allowed carbonate deposition. During the beginning of the Holocene (>9700cal. a BP), lake levels were high, probably due to final melting of permafrost and dead-ice remains. The establishment of water-use intensive Pinus forests caused generally low (3-4m below modern) but fluctuating lake levels (9700-6400cal. a BP). Afterwards, the lake showed an increasing trend and reached a short-term highstand at c.5000cal. a BP (4m above modern). At the transition towards a cooler and wetter late Holocene, forests dominated by Quercus and Fagus and initial human impact probably contributed more positively to groundwater recharge. Lake levels remained high between 3800 and 800cal. a BP, but the lake system was not sensitive enough to record short-term fluctuations during this period. Lake level changes were recorded again when humans profoundly affected the drainage system, land cover and lake trophy. Hence, local Holocene water level changes reflect feedbacks between catchment and vegetation characteristics and human impact superimposed by climate change at multiple temporal scales.
The sediment profile from Lake Goscia(z) over dot in central Poland comprises a continuous, seasonally resolved and exceptionally well-preserved archive of the Younger Dryas (YD) climate variation. This provides a unique opportunity for detailed investigation of lake system responses during periods of rapid climate cooling (YD onset) and warming (YD termination). The new varve record of Lake Goscia(z) over dot presented here spans 1662 years from the late Allerod (AL) to the early Preboreal (PB). Microscopic varve counting provides an independent chronology with a YD duration of 1149+14/-22 years, which confirms previous results of 1140 +/- 40 years. We link stable oxygen isotopes and chironomid-based air temperature reconstructions with the response of various geochemical and varve microfacies proxies especially focusing on the onset and termination of the YD. Cooling at the YD onset lasted similar to 180 years, which is about a century longer than the terminal warming that was completed in similar to 70 years. During the AL/YD transition, environmental proxy data lagged the onset of cooling by similar to 90 years and revealed an increase of lake productivity and internal lake re-suspension as well as slightly higher detrital sediment input. In contrast, rapid warming and environmental changes during the YD/PB transition occurred simultaneously. However, initial changes such as declining diatom deposition and detrital input occurred already a few centuries before the rapid warming at the YD/PB transition. These environmental changes likely reflect a gradual increase in summer air temperatures already during the YD. Our data indicate complex and differing environmental responses to the major climate changes related to the YD, which involve different proxy sensitivities and threshold processes.
Palaeoenvironmental implications of evaporative gaylussite crystals from Lonar Lake, central India
(2013)
We have undertaken petrographic, mineralogical, geochemical and isotopic investigations on carbonate minerals found within a 10-m-long core from Lonar Lake, central India, with the aim of evaluating their potential as palaeoenvironmental proxies. The core encompasses the entire Holocene and is the first well-dated high-resolution record from central India. While calcite and/or aragonite were found throughout the core, the mineral gaylussite was found only in two specific intervals (46303890 and 2040560 cal a BP). Hydrochemical and isotope data from inflowing streams and lake waters indicate that evaporitic processes play a dominant role in the precipitation of carbonates within this lake. Isotopic (18O and 13C) studies on the evaporative gaylussite crystals and residual bulk carbonates (calcite) from the long core show that evaporation is the major control on 18O enrichment in both the minerals. However, in case of 13C additional mechanisms, for example methanogenesis (gaylussite) and phytoplankton productivity (calcium carbonate), play an additional important role in some intervals. We also discuss the relevance of our investigation for palaeoclimate reconstruction and late Holocene monsoon variability.