climate information imprinted in oxygen isotopic composition of precipitation in europe abstract in this study we analyze the interannual variability of the oxygen isotopic composition of winter precipitation 18 o prec over europe and investigate its related climate information for this purpose we compare winter temperature precipitation and 18 o prec modeled by the atmospheric general circulation model echam5 wiso with different observational datasets over europe in general the model and data results are very similar for the present day climate and the modeled 18 o prec is matching the global network of isotopes in precipitation station data echam5 wiso only slightly underestimates the temperatures over europe mean difference 0 4 c the mean european precipitation amount is very similar 85 mm month however in central western europe the modeled precipitation is overestimated by up to 30 mm month we also evaluate the large scale circulation associated with the regional 18 o prec values by correlating the north atlantic oscillation nao index to modeled 18 o prec fields we show that the nao pattern is most pronouncedly imprinted in 18 o prec over central western europe consistent with observations we demonstrate for an example location near a stalagmite site in central germany how local isotope related climate variables are related to large scale european climate variability we find that in both the model results and the data present day winter variability of local 18 o prec is strongly related to atmospheric circulation remote sea level pressure fields and much less to the local and remote temperature or precipitation fields the simulated correlation pattern resembles the nao pattern but is tilted to the east due to the combined effect of temperature and precipitation

late holocene changes in vegetation and atmospheric circulation at lake uddelermeer the netherlands reconstructed using lipid biomarkers and compound specific δd analysis we reconstructed middle to late holocene changes in atmospheric circulation patterns and vegetation in northwest europe by applying novel geochemical techniques to the sediment record of lake uddelermeer the netherlands a comparison of higher plant derived leaf wax n alkane distributions archived in the lake sediments with those in living plant material combined with palynological analysis indicates that the vegetation immediately surrounding the lake became more open at 3150 cal a bp while the regional vegetation responded more gradually and 650 years later our record of the hydrogen isotopic composition of plant leaf waxes dwax shows a deuterium enrichment starting from 3500 cal a bp which we interpret as a change in atmospheric circulation a similar dwax record from nearby meerfelder maar germany shows an opposite trend around this time which could be explained by a change in sea level pressure resembling a negative north atlantic oscillation phase this could account for depleted d values of precipitation at meerfelder maar while confounding factors related to the more maritime position of uddelermeer cause the opposite shift there

persistent solar influence on north atlantic climate during the holocene surface winds and surface ocean hydrography in the subpolar north atlantic appear to have been influenced by variations in solar output through the entire holocene the evidence comes from a close correlation between inferred changes in production rates of the cosmogenic nuclides carbon 14 and beryllium 10 and centennial to millennial time scale changes in proxies of drift ice measured in deep sea sediment cores a solar forcing mechanism therefore may underlie at least the holocene segment of the north atlantic9s 1500 year cycle the surface hydrographic changes may have affected production of north atlantic deep water potentially providing an additional mechanism for amplifying the solar signals and transmitting them globally

holocene climate variability as reflected by mid european lake level fluctuations and its probable impact on prehistoric human settlements abstract a data set of 180 radiocarbon tree ring and archaeological dates obtained from sediment sequences of 26 lakes in the jura mountains the northern french pre alps and the swiss plateau was used to construct a holocene mid european lake level record the dates do not indicate a random distribution over the holocene but form clusters suggesting an alternation of lower and higher climatically driven lake level phases they provide evidence of a rather unstable holocene climate punctuated by 15 phases of higher lake level 11 250 11 050 10 300 10 000 9550 9150 8300 8050 7550 7250 6350 5900 5650 5200 4850 4800 4150 3950 3500 3100 2750 2350 1800 1700 1300 1100 750 650 cal bp and after 1394 ad a comparison of this mid european lake level record with the gisp2 polar circulation index pci record the north atlantic ice rafting debris ird events and the 14 c record suggests teleconnections in a complex cryosphere ocean atmosphere system correlations between the gisp2 pci the mid european lake level the north atlantic ird and the residual 14 c records suggest that changes in the solar activity played a major role in holocene climate oscillations over the north atlantic area

a novel proxy for terrestrial organic matter in sediments based on branched and isoprenoid tetraether lipids we propose a novel tracer for terrestrial organic carbon in sediments based on the analysis of tetraether lipids using high performance liquid chromatography mass spectrometry hplc ms analysis of terrestrial soil and peats shows that branched tetraether lipids are predominant in terrestrial environments in contrast to crenarchaeol the characteristic membrane lipid of non thermophilic crenarchaeota which is especially abundant in the marine and lacustrine environment based on these findings an index was developed the so called branched and isoprenoid tetraether bit index based on the relative abundance of terrestrially derived tetraether lipids versus crenarchaeol this bit index was applied to surface sediments from the angola basin where it was shown to trace the outflow of the congo river furthermore analyses of particulate organic matter from the north sea showed relatively higher bit indices in water column particulate organic matter near large river inputs a survey of globally distributed marine and lacustrine surface sediments shows that the bit index in these environments correlates with the relative fluvial input of terrestrial organic material making this index generally applicable the new proxy allows the rapid assessment of the fluvial input of terrestrial organic material in immature sediments up to 100 ma old

a 2000 year record of solar forcing on varved lake sediment in eastern finland abstract a high resolution study was performed on varved sediments from lake lehmilampi in eastern finland varve data was collected by digital image analysis using standard 1 8 mm thick samples impregnated in epoxy and x rayed climatic variability is imprinted on varve properties varve thickness and accumulation of mineral and organic matter during the last 2000 years the cumulative counting error of the varve record is estimated as 2 3 qualitative comparison of varve parameters and residual 14c constructed from tree rings revealed close correspondence between the two records suggesting solar forcing on lake sedimentation classical climatic periods of the last millennia medieval climate anomaly 1060 1280 in the varve record and little ice age cooler phases culminating in 1340 1465 1545 1680 1850 and also in 1930 in the varve record are clearly evident in the varve record at present the physical link between solar activity levels and lake sedimentation has not been established

environmental controls on branched tetraether lipid distributions in tropical east african lake sediments abstract quantifying past continental temperature changes is an important aspect of paleoclimate research as it allows us to constrain the amplitude of natural variability test predictive climate models and provide a proper context for changes that may arise in response to anthropogenically induced climate change the recently developed biomarker based methylation index of branched tetraethers cyclization ratio of branched tetraethers mbt cbt proxy shows potential as a new method for continental temperature reconstruction but thus far it has only been applied successfully in ocean margin sediments to assess whether this proxy is also applicable to the sedimentary record in tropical lacustrine systems we investigated the distribution of branched glycerol dialkyl glycerol tetraethers gdgts in recently deposited sediments from 46 lakes in tropical east africa these lakes span a substantial range in surface elevation 770 4500 m above sea level and thus also a wide gradient of mean annual temperature we find that saline lakes excepted branched gdgts are universally abundant in the lakes investigated and can be used to predict mean annual air temperature maat with a high degree of accuracy however the existing global mbt cbt calibration for maat based on soils predicts inaccurate temperatures when applied to our african lake dataset this observation together with the fact that surface water ph and to lesser extent lake depth appear to influence the distribution of branched gdgts among sites leads us to conclude that in situ production of branched gdgts in lakes is likely the robust relationship between branched gdgt distribution and the temperature and ph of african freshwater lakes makes these compounds suitable for paleoenvironmental reconstruction however we urge caution in using branched gdgts in lake sediments to infer past temperatures unless their exact origin can be determined

centennial climate variability in the british isles during the mid late holocene abstract multi millennial climate changes were relatively minor over the mid late holocene in the british isles because orbitally forced insolation changes were smaller than those at higher latitudes centennial climate variability is thus likely to have exerted a greater influence on the environment and human society of the region proxy climate records from the british isles covering the last 4500 years are assembled and re evaluated with the aim of identifying centennial climate variability reflected by multi proxy indicators the proxies include bog oak populations peatland surface wetness flooding episodes from fluvial deposits speleothem annual band width and oxygen isotopes chironomids from lake sediments and sand and dune deposition most proxies reflect water balance rather than temperature alone and records predominantly reflect warm season climate a series of 12 key periods of enhanced precipitation evaporation p e are identified by their presence in two or more proxy records variability in p e is much greater than that shown by temperature proxies and there is no necessary association between warm cool and dry wet periods although the data for temperature are less robust than those for p e a series of key temperature changes are proposed based on speleothem 18o and chironomid inferred july temperature records relatively cool before c 3100 years bp warmer 3100 2000 years bp cool 2000 1250 cal years bp warm 1250 650 cal years bp and cool 650 cal years bp onwards some key increases in p e 2750 1650 550 cal years bp show a strong correspondence with bond cycles in ocean proxy records for increased ice rafted debris decreased summer sea surface temperatures and sometimes decreased north atlantic deep water circulation other higher frequency changes in p e are also strongly related to sst variability whilst some of the main changes to cooler ssts and increased p e are approximately coincident with reduced solar output most are not and thus must be the result of the internal dynamics of the ocean and atmosphere future work should concentrate on firmly establishing the pattern of temperature change improving chronological accuracy and precision in existing records and improving process based understanding of proxies

solar forcing of climatic change during the mid holocene indications from raised bogs in the netherlands two cores of mid holocene raised bog deposits from the netherlands were 14 c wiggle match dated 14 c as a proxy for changes in solar activity is validated this paper adds to the increasing body of evidence that solar variability forced climatic changes during the holocene 14 c wiggle match dating mid holocene wet shifts

reconstruction of the late quaternary paleoenvironments of the nussloch loess paleosol sequence germany using n alkane biomarkers abstract this study contributes to the paleoenvironmental reconstruction of the loess paleosol sequence of nussloch germany by using n alkanes as plant leaf wax derived lipid biomarkers we found that n alkane patterns and concentrations in the saalian loess and the last interglacial eemian paleosol of nussloch point to very strong degradation and prevailing deciduous vegetation degradation effects in the overlying paleosols and loess layers are less pronounced and allow for the application of an end member mixing model to estimate vegetation changes semi quantitatively our findings highlight the potential for the interpretation of degradation corrected n alkane ratios n alkane modelling results for loess layers paleosols and an in filled paleochannel dated to 60 32 ka suggest that up to 50 of the n alkanes were derived from deciduous trees or shrubs this finding is in agreement with the abundant occurrence of wood fragments and indicates a highly variable and dynamic landscape dominated by tundra shrubland on the other hand deciduous trees or shrubs did not contribute significantly to the soil organic matter in the late weichselian loess layers and the intercalated gelic gleysols 32 18 ka

dating raised bogs new aspects of ams 14c wiggle matching a reservoir effect and climatic change abstract high resolution ams dating of holocene raised bog deposits engbertsdijksvenen the netherlands shows natural 14c variations wiggles which can be matched with the dendrochronological calibration curve comparison of our results with other conventionally dated peat cores and the 14c record shows an unexpected and as yet unreported reservoir effect and a marked and sudden wetting of the bog surfaces coinciding with the advent of a sporer type solar minimum the homeric minimum the potential of ams dating to vastly improve the accuracy of holocene chronologies is demonstrated

δd values of n alkanes in tibetan lake sediments and aquatic macrophytes a surface sediment study and application to a 16 ka record from lake koucha abstract a set of lake surface sediment samples and aquatic macrophytes from the eastern and central tibetan plateau and a sediment core from koucha lake northeastern tibetan plateau were analysed for hydrogen isotope signals of aliphatic lipid biomarkers the d values of n alkanes were correlated with those of meteoric water in the summer months and showed increasing pearson correlation coefficients with increasing n alkane chain length r 0 80 for n c 31 while in samples from the most humid regions southeastern tibetan plateau the apparent enrichment factors between meteoric water and lipids are close to those reported for other humid sites e 135 for mid chain and 125 for long chain n alkanes they become smaller e 118 to 41 mean value 86 at sites with a negative moisture balance northeastern and central tibetan plateau and qaidam basin this might be caused by enrichment in deuterium of the source water used for lipid synthesis as a result of lake water evaporation and soil and leaf water evapotranspiration in the core from lake koucha decreasing d values of all n alkanes between 15 and 10 cal ka bp give evidence for an intensification of the asian summer monsoon at ca 9 cal ka bp a ca 15 shift towards higher d values of mid chain n alkanes suggests enhanced evaporation of the lake water which outweighs higher precipitation amounts because of a temperature increase during the early holocene monsoonal maximum only a few surface sediment samples show a significant offset between d values of mid chain n alkanes and n c 31 d mid n c31 and no systematic dependence between this offset and environmental parameters such as mean annual precipitation was found in the core available data for most samples also do not show a significant offset only a slight increase 15 of d mid n c31 at ca 10 0 cal ka bp and a decrease 17 at ca 6 8 cal ka bp might indicate wetter and drier conditions respectively however interpretation of d mid n c31 throughout the record is difficult because of a lack of reliable data for n c 31 in key sections of the core so more records are necessary to further test the potential applicability of d mid n c31 as a proxy for palaeo hydrological conditions

application of bacterial glycerol dialkyl glycerol tetraethers gdgts to develop modern and past temperature estimates from new zealand lakes abstract branched isoalkyl glycerol dialkyl glycerol tetraethers gdgts of bacterial origin have been found in high abundance in both modern and glacial sediments of new zealand south island freshwater lakes covering a wide range of altitude 101 2000 m like isoprenoid gdgts of archaeal origin they provide excellent potential for temperature assessment for this study their distribution patterns mbt methylation ratio and cbt cyclisation ratio of branched gdgts have been successfully used to develop an initial temperature calibration for the study area and to provide preliminary palaeo environmental interpretations mbt data from modern lake sediments correlate well with measured annual air temperature r2 0 74 enabling a regional calibration for reconstructing palaeotemperatures for fossil samples mbt derived palaeotemperatures for alpine lake calibrated against mean annual temperature were determined for the last glacial during an early cold phase between 29 000 and 26 000 years bp and for later less cold phases between 23 000 and 18 000 years bp compared with the modern temperature regime the mbt data indicate a decrease of ca 5 6 and 2 8 c respectively during this time modern and past mbt derived temperatures correlate with chironomid based temperature reconstructions in the area archaeal gdgts commonly used for the tex86 index are abundant in fossil sediments alpine lake but scarce in modern sediments hindering a new local calibration for this palaeotemperature proxy

distributions of branched gdgts in a tropical lake system implications for lacustrine application of the mbt cbt paleoproxy branched glycerol dialkyl glycerol tetraether gdgt lipids are abundant and ubiquitous in lake sediments potentially allowing for a paleolimnological application of the so called mbt cbt proxy methylation index of branched tetraethers cyclization ratio of branched tetraethers to investigate the origin and characteristics of these compounds in lacustrine environments we examined the distributions of gdgts in soils river sediments and lake sediments from lake towuti on the island of sulawesi indonesia we found significant differences in the degree of methylation and cyclization expressed by way of the mbt and cbt indices between the soil samples and the aquatic samples suggesting that there may be in situ production of gdgts in the aquatic environment based on these findings we urge caution in the application of the mbt cbt paleoproxy to lake sediments and encourage more rigorous study of these compounds in freshwater environments

formal subdivision of the holocene series epoch a discussion paper by a working group of intimate integration of ice core marine and terrestrial records and the subcommission on quaternary stratigraphy international commission on stratigraphy this discussion paper by a working group of intimate integration of ice core marine and terrestrial records and the subcommision on quaternary stratigraphy sqs of the international commission on stratigraphy ics considers the prospects for a formal subdivision of the holocene series epoch although previous attempts to subdivide the holocene have proved inconclusive recent developments in quaternary stratigraphy notably the definition of the pleistocene holocene boundary and the emergence of formal subdivisions of the pleistocene series epoch mean that it may be timely to revisit this matter the quaternary literature reveals a widespread but variable informal usage of a tripartite division of the holocene early middle or mid and late and we argue that this de facto subdivision should now be formalized to ensure consistency in stratigraphic terminology we propose an early middle holocene boundary at 8200 a bp and a middle late holocene boundary at 4200 a bp each of which is linked to a global stratotype section and point gssp should the proposal find a broad measure of support from the quaternary community a submission will be made to the international union of geological sciences iugs via the sqs and the ics for formal ratification of this subdivision of the holocene series epoch copyright 2012 john wiley sons ltd

determining the sun s influence on lateglacial and holocene climates a focus on climate response to centennial scale solar forcing at 2800 cal bp abstract the influence of solar variability on the climate of the lateglacial and holocene periods has been the subject of increasing discussion during the last decade in the mid holocene several studies have identified cold wet events that occur at ca 2800 cal bp and a link with a reduction in solar activity inferred from the 14c record has been postulated we present results from a multi proxy study of peat humification plant macrofossils and testate amoebae from a raised bog at glen west northwest ireland that indicate that dry bog surface conditions were experienced in the north of ireland at the time of the solar anomaly starting at 2800 cal bp with the aid of 14c wiggle matching and tephrochronology an abrupt shift to wetter conditions is dated to ca 2700 cal bp coinciding with a 14c maximum but clearly post dating the 2800 cal bp event identified elsewhere in europe we explore the significance of this apparent lag in the irish record considering the possible role of the ocean in generating spatial and temporal complexities in the climate patterns of the north atlantic region we conclude that these complexities are likely to give rise to time transgressive climate responses around the north atlantic that will only be recognised by more critical chronological approaches

bog burst in the eastern netherlands triggered by the 2 8 kyr bp climate event the nature and cause of the so called 2 8 kyr bp event have been a subject of much debate peat sequences have provided much of the evidence for this event but the process link between climate and peatland response is not well understood multiproxy high resolution analysis of a core from bargerveen in the eastern netherlands based on pollen non pollen palynomorphs testate amoebae and geochemistry identified an abrupt shift from relatively dry to extremely wet conditions radiocarbon based wiggle match dating wmd and biostratigraphy based on the pollen record show that this shift in local hydrology occurred around 2800 cal yr bp we interpret an erosional hiatus lasting up to 950 years immediately prior to this as the effect of a bog burst after excessive rainfall this phenomenon was not limited to our sampling location but occurred over a large part of the former bargerveen peat at the hiatus contains microfossils that reflect temporary eutrophication as a consequence of local fires and secondary decomposition because of increased drainage after the erosion event our data show how detailed multiproxy analyses can elucidate the past response of peatlands to changing climate and suggest that the climatic change in northwest europe at this time caused major non linear disruption to these ecosystems

contrasting mechanism of crustal growth abstract the paleoproterozoic granite greenstone belts of french guiana formed during a period of major crustal growth at the scale of the earth two contrasting mechanisms of crustal growth have been identified by recent structural metamorphic geochronological and geochemical investigations in the cayenne regina region which is part of the northern granite greenstone belt of french guiana following the formation of oceanic crust which is characterized by a tholeiitic volcanic sequence dated at 2174 7 ma the early stage of crustal generation was marked by successive building of calc alkaline plutonic volcanic complexes with the formation of the ile de cayenne complex dated at 2144 6 ma to the north and of the central guiana complex dated at 2115 7 ma to the south this first period of crustal generation by accumulation of mantle derived magmas was followed by a period of crustal recycling and tectonic accretion sediments derived from the granite greenstone belts were deposited in large marginal basins such as the orapu basin separating the plutonic volcanic complexes convergence between the newly formed crustal blocks caused deformation during the transamazonian orogeny of the orapu marginal basin caught in between the ile de cayenne and central guiana complexes oblique convergence is further characterized by the development of en echelon pull apart basins along the north guiana trough sinistral strike slip shear zones affecting the edges of the orapu marginal basin the lithological succession in these basins is typical of foreland basins and the metamorphic and structural evolution of the kaw and regina basins in the cayenne regina region indicate burial to depth up to 20 km in a context of heterogeneous transpression the geochemical signature of small syntectonic granitic plutons dated at 2093 8 ma and 2083 8 ma emplaced along the major strike slip shear zones is consistent with crustal thickening and partial melting of an enriched crustal source these features suggest that the last stage of the transamazonian orogeny was marked by oblique convergence collision and crustal thickening in a similar way to modern orogens

a synthesis of hydrogen isotope variability and its hydrological significance at the qinghai tibetan plateau abstract hydrogen isotope ratios of sedimentary biomarkers are known to record the climatic variability in terrestrial and marine environments however there is still a lack of calibration studies that can quantitatively retrace the driving forces especially at the tibetan plateau here we elaborate the actual influence of environmental parameters such as temperature evapotranspiration salinity and biosynthetic fractionation on d values of n alkanes we measured hydrogen isotope values d of n alkanes in recent sediment and plant samples as well as d values of different water sources lake and inflow water precipitation as well as leaf root and soil water from six tibetan lakes along a 10 spanning longitudinal transect covering an aridity gradient as expected the deuterium record can be used to distinguish two water pools at the plateau i precipitation water which supplies water for the lake inflow and terrestrial plants and ii enriched lake water having a clear evaporative signal based on significant correlations of the source water and d values of n alkanes d of alkane n c 23 record the lake water isotope composition and track the evaporative enrichment of the lake system in contrast d of alkane n c 29 can be used to retrace the isotope composition of the inflow displaying the integrated rainfall signal in the vegetation period modified by soil and leaf water evaporation while temperature changes are less pronounced across the tibetan transect the isotopic difference between c 23 and c 29 could potentially be used as a proxy to reconstruct effective moisture precipitation minus evaporation areas with lower precipitation amounts and higher evaporation rates are characterized by higher d c 23 c 29 values this relationship is more pronounced in regions with mean annual precipitation below 350 mm even in contrasting environments the application of the d proxies is very promising combining other tibetan studies it is possible to present a comprehensive picture of the usage of compound specific hydrogen isotopes of n alkanes on the tibetan plateau

reconstruction of late holocene forest dynamics in northern ecuador from biomarkers and pollen in soil cores centuries of human interference have led to large scale reduction of montane forests in the northern ecuadorian andes as a result the natural position of the upper forest line ufl in the area is now subject of scientific debate which is hindering sustainable reforestation efforts uncertainty is fuelled by insufficient precision of fossil pollen spectra to reconstruct the natural ufl position here we tried to resolve this issue by using biomarkers i e plant species specific patterns of n alkanes and n alcohols preserved in soils in the northern ecuadorian andes as additional proxy to reconstruct the natural ufl position to unravel preserved biomarker patterns we used the recently developed verhib model and for the first time assessed its applicability in soil archives changes in holocene biomarker based vegetation composition were directly compared to changes in pollen based vegetation composition from the same soil profiles both proxies proved to be complementary and a combined application allowed for a more accurate reconstruction of past vegetation than with pollen analysis alone we found that the present day ufl in the study area has not been significantly depressed by human interference and was at 3650 m maximally during late holocene times for the moment of post glacial forest development we found a migration lag between pollen earlier and biomarkers later this reflects the difference between the non transported biomarker signal showing spot dating thus in paleoecological studies functionally equalling the information from plant macro remains in peat bogs and the upslope wind blown pollen signal showing an upslope forest expansion up to over a millennium ahead the combined pollen biomarker approach in soil cores shows great potential for vegetation reconstruction however more research of biomarker consistency and preservation is needed before application in other environments

molecular proxies for paleoclimatology we summarize the applications of molecular proxies in paleoclimatology marine molecular records especially are proving to be of value but certain environmentally persistent compounds can also be measured in lake sediments loess deposits and ice cores the fundamentals of this approach are the molecular parameters the compound abundances and carbon hydrogen nitrogen and oxygen isotopic contents which can be derived by the analysis of sediment extracts these afford proxy measures which can be interpreted in terms of the conditions which control climate and also reflect its operation we discuss two types of proxy those of terrigenous and those of aquatic origin and exemplify their application in the study of marine sediments through the medium of ten case studies based in the atlantic mediterranean and pacific oceans and in antarctica the studies are mainly for periods in the present the holocene and particularly the last glacial interglacial but they also include one study from the cretaceous the terrigenous proxies which are measures of continental vegetation are based on higher plant leaf wax compounds i e long chain circa c30 hydrocarbons alcohols and acids they register the relative contributions of c3 vs c4 type plants to the vegetation in the source areas the two marine proxies are measures of sea surface temperatures sst the longer established one u37k is based on the relative abundances of c37 alkenones photosynthesized by unicellular algae members of the haptophyta the newest proxy tex86 is based on c86 glycerol tetraethers gdgts synthesized in the water column by some of the archaeal microbiota the crenarchaeota