holocene rainfall variability in southern chile a marine record of latitudinal shifts of the southern westerlies geochemical and clay mineral parameters of a high accumulation marine sediment core from the chilean continental slope 41 s provide a 7700 yr record of rainfall variability in southern chile related to the position of the southern westerlies we especially use the iron content measured with a time resolution of ca 10 yr on average of 14 caccelerator mass spectrometry dated marine sediments as a proxy for the relative input of iron poor coastal range and iron rich andean source rocks variations in this input are most likely induced by rainfall changes in the continental hinterland of the core position based on these interpretations we find a pronounced rainfall variability on multicentennial to millennial time scales superimposed on generally more arid conditions during the middle holocene 7700 to 4000 cal yr b p compared to the late holocene 4000 to present this variability and thus changes in the position of the southern westerlies are first compared to regional terrestrial paleoclimate data sets from central and southern chile in order to derive possible wider implications and forcing mechanisms of the holocene latitudinal shifts of the southern westerlies we then compare our data to ice core records from both tropical south america and coastal antarctica these records show similar bands of variability centered at ca 900 and 1500 yr comparisons of band pass filters suggest a close connection of shifts of the southern westerlies to changes within the tropical climate system the correlation to climate conditions in coastal antarctica shows a more complicated picture with a phase shift at the beginning of the late holocene coinciding with the onset of the modern state of el nin o southern oscillation system the presented data provide further evidence that the well known millennial scale climate variability during the last glacial continued throughout the holocene fl 2001 elsevier science b v all rights reserved

peat bank growth holocene palaeoecology and climate history of south georgia sub antarctica based on a botanical macrofossil record botanical macrofassil analysis of a more than 9000 years old radiocarbon dated peat sequence of a moss peat bank from south georgia shows a clear evolution in the vegetation seven ecological phases could be distinguished and they can be interpreted in terms of climate development during the holocene until 2200 years ago warnstorfia fontinatiopsis was the dominant moss species pointing to a wet environment lower numbers of this species in association with the presence of drier species are assumed to indicate drier periods such as occurring between ca 6000 5200 and 4400 3400 cal yr br the most prominent and definitive vegetation change took place around 2200 cal yr bp a polytilchum chollsodontium moss peat bank was formed which is still growing there today the forcing mechanism for this vegetation change is thought to be a temperature decrease rather than a precipitation decrease this conclusion is mainly based on the fact that today moss peat banks have their optimal occurrence range in the maritime antarctic a region were the mean annual temperature is ca 4 degrees c lower than on south georgia the remarkable change in the moss bank vegetation at 2200 cal yr bp raises the question whether this moment was only a short climatic deterioration or a definitive change to a cooler and wetter climate after a holocene climatic optimum period c 2008 elsevier ltd all rights reserved

holocene glacial and climate history of prince gustav channel northeastern antarctic peninsula the antarctic peninsula is one of the most rapidly warming regions on earth as evidenced by a recent increase in the intensity and duration of summer melting the recession of glaciers and the retreat and collapse of ice shelves despite this only a limited number of well dated near shore marine and lake sediment based palaeoenvironmental records exist from this region so our understanding of the longer term context of this rapid climate change is limited here we provide new well dated constraints on the deglaciation history and changes in sea ice and climate based on analyses of sedimentological proxies diatoms and fossil pigments in a sediment core collected from an isolation basin on beak island in prince gustav channel ne antarctic peninsula 63 36 s 57 20 w twenty two radiocarbon dates provided a chronology for the core including a minimum modelled age for deglaciation of 10 602 cal yr bp following the onset of marine sedimentation conditions remained cold and perennial sea ice persisted in this part of prince gustav channel until c 9372 cal yr bp this was followed by a seasonally open marine environment until at least 6988 cal yr bp corresponding with the early retreat and disintegration of the ice shelf in southern prince gustav channel following isolation of the basin from 6988 cal yr bp a relatively cold climate persisted until 3169 cal yr bp a mid late holocene climate optimum occurred between 3169 and 2120 cal yr bp inferred from multiple indicators of increased biological production this postdates the onset of the mid late holocene climate optimum in the south shetland islands 4380 cal yr bp and the south orkney islands 3800 cal yr bp suggesting that cooler climate systems of the weddell sea gyre to the east of the peninsula may have buffered the onset of warming climate deterioration is inferred from c 2120 cal yr bp until 543 cal yr bp this was followed by warming superimposed on this warming trend the instrumental record of recent warming at nearby hope bay is mirrored by a recent increase in the lake s primary production and a shift in the diatom communities in the uppermost 3 cm of sediments suggesting that this is amongst the first records to show an ecological response to recent rapid temperature increase these new constraints on glaciological and climate events in prince gustav channel are reviewed in the context of wider changes in the antarctic region

multiproxy summer and winter surface air temperature field reconstructions for southern south america covering the past centuries we statistically reconstruct austral summer winter surface air temperature fields back to ad 900 1706 using 22 20 annually resolved predictors from natural and human archives from southern south america ssa this represents the first regional scale climate field reconstruction for parts of the southern hemisphere at this high temporal resolution we apply three different recon struction techniques multivariate principal component regression composite plus scaling and regularized expectation maximization there is generally good

millennial scale variability in southern hemisphere westerly wind activity over the last 5000 years in sw patagonia abstract here we report results from a high resolution palynological record and stratigraphic geochronologic data related to a neoglacial event in torres del paine national park southern chile 51 s 71 w to investigate climatic variations in southwest patagonia during the last 5000 years the record reveals a stepwise expansion of nothofagus dominated woodlands and forests with discrete pulses at 4400 2900 1300 and 570 cal yr bp superimposed upon this trend we identify a relative opening of the woodlands between 4100 2900 and 2300 1300 cal yr bp closed canopy forests dominated the landscape between 570 60 cal yr bp followed by a rapid decline at the end of the 19th century that coincided with intense fire activity and the appearance of rumex cf acetocella an exotic species introduced by european settlers we interpret these changes as variations in the intensity and or position of the southern margin of the westerly winds which culminated with a net eastward shift of the forest steppe ecotone during the little ice age we propose that millennial scale changes in either the latitudinal position and or the overall strength of the southern westerlies may be responsible for vegetation changes fire occurrence and the dynamic behavior of patagonian glaciers during the last 5000 years because the modern maximum in near surface wind velocities and precipitation is located between 48 and 50 s we suggest that the core of the southern westerlies may have achieved this modern position 570 years ago

is palynology a credible climate proxy in the subantarctic pollen and spore analysis is the most successfully used palaeobotanical discipline for reconstructing holocene vegetation and climate history throughout the world subantarctic islands are very specific areas they are located in the circum antarctic southern ocean in latitudes that are under strong influence of the southern westerly winds and are characterised by a treeless phanerogam poor flora palynological research on many of these islands has resulted in diverging conclusions about how to infer climate history from pollen data in this study we compare pollen data with macrofossil data on the one hand and the palaeoenvironmental history based on a multiproxy record on the other hand of two peat sequences from two different subantarctic islands south georgia and ile de la possession iles crozet we conclude that palynology must be used with caution as a proxy for climate change on these islands especially when no other proxy data are available the upland lowland principle as it has been applied in pollen studies in the south indian ocean islands results in erroneous conclusions about climate change on ile de la possession more palaeoclimatic multiproxy and pollen studies in combination with pollen vegetation relationship studies can however contribute to a more reliable model of how to interpret pollen data in the subantarctic we want to stress that our conclusions are only based on holocene records consequently the question remains if palynology can be used as a palaeoclimatic proxy when climatic changes were more pronounced such as during the last glacial interglacial transition

glacial geomorphology and chronology of deglaciation south georgia sub antarctic we mapped and dated the glacial geomorphology of north east south georgia in the maritime sub antarctic the aim was to examine the timing of deglaciation of the island in the context of inter hemispheric phasing of climate change former glacier limits are restricted to the inner fjords and our detailed mapping of them has demonstrated a consistent geomorphological pattern that is similar across several different glacier types and sizes the pattern comprises three suites of moraines categories a c not all of which are represented at every site because the outer suite is often overridden by younger suites category a is an outer wide low amplitude moraine ridge category b comprises 2 4 sharp crested bouldery moraines that are often located close to or even over riding a and category c is a series of lower amplitude moraines with overprinted streamlined landforms such as flutings analysis of in situ cosmogenic 10be in boulders on these moraines has allowed us to determine a deglacial chronology for the older two moraine groups the age of the inner youngest group has been estimated from soil development the cosmogenic nuclide ages show that the outermost moraine was deposited ca 12 2 1 5 ka bp but that a subsequent readvance in the mid holocene ca 3 6 1 1 ka bp reached and in places over rode this earlier moraine this latter advance coincides with the mid holocene hypsithermal a final late holocene advance reached closely similar limits to the previous two fluctuations and is estimated from soil data to have an age of ca 1 1 ka bp we suggest that the close concordance of late glacial and interglacial limits in this case associated with warming can be explained by a change in dominant forcing during glacials extensive sea ice limits precipitation availability and so glaciers are restricted to the inner fjords during interglacials precipitation is not limited in the same way by sea ice cover and so during warming precipitation increases and tidewater glaciers on the island have responded by advancing this study emphasises the importance of a clear understanding of geomorphology in order to interpret chronological information

holocene environmental change in south georgia evidence from lake sediments the holocene environmental history of south georgia is important because of the island s location in the southern westerlies in an oceanic zone of the world devoid of high resolution terrestrial records this is the first attempt to interpret a palaeoenvironmental record from lake sediments in south georgia it is based on a wide variety of analyses undertaken on cores from two lakes both are in the same unglaciated drainage basin but one is at 80 m above sea level and near the altitudinal limit for vegetation growth whereas the other is at 25 m and within the zone of continuous vegetation cover results from both lakes indicate shifts of vegetation boundaries which together with evidence for changing biotic productivity within the lakes themselves are interpreted as indicating climatic changes radiocarbon dates on the main changes identify a climatic optimum beginning before 5620 290 14c yr bp and ending at around 4815 330 14c yr bp when conditions in the upper part of the catchment were more conducive to plant growth than they are today the record obtained from the lower lake was shorter but indicates two periods of harsher climate relative to the present since 4000 yr bp this interpretation of the lake evidence agrees with other dated evidence of environmental change from peat sections glacial stratigraphy and geomorphology in south georgia together the work allows an overall reconstruction of environmental change in the holocene

late holocene palaeoclimatic records from lake sediments on james ross island antarctica sediment profiles from several lakes ponds in the northern ice free area of james ross island antarctica were the subject of a multi disciplinary palaeoenvironmental investigation the results obtained from lithological geomagnetic geochemical and diatom analyses and the frequency of branchinecta eggs were evaluated with multivariate statistics and provide a fairly detailed picture of climate change during the last 5000 years new radiocarbon dates are combined with previously published 14c dates so as to date the palaeoenvironmental and palaeohydrological changes identified by the stratigraphic studies in combination with the findings of glacial geological studies our data suggest that the brandy bay glacier began to recede rapidly just before 5000 yr b p due to calving and moisture starvation caused by cold and arid conditions in one of the ponds studied gypsum began to precipitate as a consequence of these conditions when the influence of glacial meltwater ceased this hypothesis was tested by hydrochemical modeling at approximately 4200 yr b p the climate became more humid and warmer and the pond supported a fairly diverse biota which included a variety of diatom species and for example branchinecta gaini a crustacean that feeds on benthic cyanobacterial mats the brandy bay glacier probably advanced during this humid period but the advance was interrupted by subsequent arid conditions which started at 3000 yr b p during this arid phase glaciers became completely absent from the study area as a result formerly large lakes fed by glacial meltwater transformed into small enclosed brackish water bodies that contained b gaini the arid and fairly cold conditions lasted for 1500 2000 years until approximately 1200 yr b p when the aquatic systems expanded and their salinity was lowered as a result of increased snow accumulation and glacial expansion the increased deposition of minerogenic matter caused by glacial erosion and meltwater inflow probably caused the disappearance of branchinecta on james ross island we regard this most recent phase as a period of increased humidity and warmth compared to the previous period although the conditions appear to be less warm and humid than those which prevailed during the climatic optimum between 4200 and 3000 yr b p in spite of certain correlation problems we tentatively correlate our results to other studies of holocene environments in antarctica and from that it can be suggested that the climatic optimum was of circumpolar significance therefore the climatic oscillations recorded in sediments on james ross island may reflect oscillations in the anticyclonic stormtracks and the strength of the high pressure cell over the inland ice sheet

palaeoclimate southern westerlies and co2 the southern hemisphere westerly winds affect the exchange of carbon dioxide between the ocean and atmosphere climate reconstructions from the southern mid latitudes may reveal variability in the strength and position of the wind belt since the last glacial maximum

regime shift in indian summer monsoon climatological intraseasonal oscillations 1 using a high resolution daily rainfall data over indian continent between 1951 and 2004 summer monsoon climatological intraseasonal oscillations ciso and its regime shift around mid seventies is investigated explaining 20 40 of intraseasonal oscillation iso amplitude the summer monsoon ciso represents a significant predictable component of the monsoon isos indian monsoon ciso is characterized by a dominant northward propagating episode in both pre seventies 1951 75 pre75 and in the post seventies 1979 04 post79 the dominant episode starts in the beginning of july during pre75 in contrast to beginning of june during post79 period we find that the iav of the initial phase of both the first and the second iso episodes worked in tandem with the changes in the northward propagation speed in producing the phase locking for the second episode during pre75 while for the first episode during post79 change in northward propagation speed is shown to be consistent with changes in easterly vertical shear and meridional gradient of low level humidity during the two climate regimes

isotopic evidence for hydrologic change related to the westerlies in sw patagonia chile during the last millennium abstract the southern hemisphere westerly winds influence the spatial distribution of precipitation in southern south america and play a significant role in the global carbon cycle yet little is known about how this important atmospheric circulation feature has varied in the past here we present a sediment core record of late holocene variability from lago guanaco a small closed basin lake located in torres del paine national park chilean patagonia the park is located in the core of the modern wind field and variations in the intensity of the atmospheric circulation directly influence the hydrology of this region we combine stable isotopic measurements of biogenic carbonate and bulk organic matter to identify two periods of increased evaporation between 900 550 and 400 50 calendar years before present cal yr bp the first interval is coincident with the medieval climate anomaly mca while the more recent period is broadly coincident with the timing of the little ice age lia during the lia interval we observe simultaneous monotonic increases in the 18 o of biogenic carbonate and nothofagus dombeyi type pollen which we interpret as indicative of significant changes in the intensity of the southern westerlies during the last millennium the isotopic and palynological variations in the guanaco record are coincident with geochemical variations found in an antarctic ice core record from siple dome suggesting that the signal preserved in lago guanaco is regional rather than local and that the lia intensification was accompanied by a poleward shift in the southern margin of the westerlies in addition we interpret four periods of increased lake productivity centered on 900 650 500 and 200 cal yr bp from simultaneous increases in the 13 c of bulk organic material and biogenic carbonate these increases in lake productivity are most likely tied to increases in summer temperatures

millennial scale climate changes on south georgia southern ocean abstract the location of south georgia 54 s 36 w makes it a suitable site for the study of the climatic connections between temperate and polar environments in the southern hemisphere because the mass balance of the small cirque glaciers on south georgia primarily responds to changes in summer temperature they can provide records of changes in the south atlantic ocean and atmospheric circulation we use grey scale density weight loss on ignition and grain size analyses to show that the proportion of glacially eroded sediments to organic sediments in block lake was highly variable during the last 7400 cal yr b p we expect that the glacial signal is clearly detectable above noise originating from nonglacial processes and assume that an increase in glacigenic sediment deposition in block lake has followed holocene glacier advances we interpret proglacial lake sediment sequences in terms of summer climate warming and cooling events prominent millennial scale features include cooling events between 7200 and 7000 5200 and 4400 and 2400 and 1600 cal yr b p and after 1000 cal yr b p comparison with other terrestrial and marine records reveals that the south georgian record captures all the important changes in southern hemisphere holocene climate our results reveal a tentative coupling between climate changes in the south atlantic and north atlantic because the documented temperature changes on south georgia are anti phased to those in the north atlantic

palynological evidence for interglacial vegetation cover on marion island subantarctic abstract peats and organic rich sediments found intercalated with glacial deposits on subantarctic marion island yielded pollen spectra indicating vegetation and climatic conditions similar to present these deposits are considered to have formed under interglacial conditions a few palynomorph types of plants not recorded on the island were found in the samples these could have been introduced through long distance dispersal but one of them might belong to an extinct taxon zonation in the pollen profile suggests that during the interglacial phase the ocean shore was close to its present position and that it moved some distance away at the onset of the glacial stage

a 2 300 year long annually resolved record of the south american summer monsoon from the peruvian andes decadal and centennial mean state changes in south american summer monsoon sasm precipitation during the last 2 300 years are detailed using an annually resolved authigenic calcite record of precipitation 18o from a varved lake in the central peruvian andes this unique sediment record shows that 18o peaked during the medieval climate anomaly mca from a d 900 to 1100 providing evidence that the sasm weakened considerably during this period minimum 18o values occurred during the little ice age lia between a d 1400 and 1820 reflecting a prolonged intensification of the sasm that was regionally synchronous after the lia 18o increased rapidly particularly during the current warm period cwp a d 1900 to present indicating a return to reduced sasm precipitation that was more abrupt and sustained than the onset of the mca diminished sasm precipitation during the mca and cwp tracks reconstructed northern hemisphere and north atlantic warming and a northward displacement of the intertropical convergence zone itcz over the atlantic and likely the pacific intensified sasm precipitation during the lia follows reconstructed northern hemisphere and north atlantic cooling el nino like warming in the pacific and a southward displacement of the itcz over both oceans these results suggest that sasm mean state changes are sensitive to itcz variability as mediated by western hemisphere tropical sea surface temperatures particularly in the atlantic continued northern hemisphere and north atlantic warming may therefore help perpetuate the recent reductions in sasm precipitation that characterize the last 100 years which would negatively impact andean water resources

palaeolimnological evidence for marked holocene environmental changes on signy island antarctica lake sediment cores from heywood and sombre lakes on signy island south orkney islands antarctica have yielded a conformable radiocarbon chronology for the holocene and a high resolution record of environmental change the lakes share a common climate and geology but have distinct catchments this provides an opportunity for using lake sediments to differentiate between local within lake catchment events and those at a regional scale analyses of various biological and physical remains from the lakes suggest that both catchments have undergone considerable changes during the last 5700 years macrofossils moss and crustacean remains are more abundant in the late holocene being associated with a period of high sediment accumulation which is related to diatom evidence for more nutrient rich conditions at the sites this is inter preted as a response to a holocene climate optimum at c 3800 1300 14 c yr bp the record is consistent with other lake ice and ocean core studies although the climate optimum appears to have persisted for a longer period at signy island

late glacial and holocene glacier fluctuations and environmental change on south georgia southern ocean south georgia provides a terrestrial record of postglacial environmental change from a largely oceanic zone of the earth the record is representative of the southern westerlies and provides a link between antarctica and the temperate zones of southern south america evidence from glacial geomorphology slope stratigraphy and analyses of environmental indicators in peat and lake cores is used to interpret this record wastage of the full glacial ice cap was interrupted by a late glacial stade of the outlet and valley glaciers before ca 10 000 yr b p plant growth had begun at low altitude 50 m on the sheltered lee side northeast coast within the late glacial moraine limits by 9700 yr b p environmental conditions on slopes above 80 m probably were too rigorous for a stable vegetation cover until ca 6400 yr b p this was followed by a period from 5600 to 4800 yr b p when conditions were warmer than at present by up to 0 6 c periods of climatic cooling occurred at ca 4800 3800 yr b p ca 3400 1800 yr b p and within the last 1400 yr the most extensive holocene advance of south georgia glaciers culminated just before 2200 yr b p these holocene temperature changes of between 0 5 and 1 0 c are comparable in scale and timing to those identified from recent analyses of vostok ice cores from the antarctic ice sheet

synchronous climate anomalies in the western north pacific and north atlantic regions during the last 14 000 years abstract a peat cellulose 18 o record spanning around 14 000 years from the hani peat mire in northeastern china reveals several abrupt temperature anomalies in the period from the last deglaciation through the holocene the timing of these anomalies coincides well with the notable cooling events recorded respectively using the gisp2 ice core and ice rafted sediment of the north atlantic ocean such as the older dryas inter allerod younger dryas and the nine ice rafted debris events the results demonstrate that this repeating pattern of abrupt temperature deterioration is not limited to the north atlantic area at high latitude but also exists in the western north pacific region at middle latitude the synchronous temperature anomalies possibly are resulted from the joint effects of meltwater discharge into the north atlantic ocean and reduced solar activity in the period from around 8600 to 8200 cal yrs bp the hani peat record shows a broad 18 o peak that may reflect compound climate signals resulting from the two kinds of forcing factors the temperature drop related to reduced solar activity at around 8600 8250 cal yrs bp and the temperature anomaly attributed to the meltwater effect at around 8220 70 cal yrs bp this result may provide palaeo temperature evidence for existence of the sharp 8 2 k event in the western north pacific region in addition our results have revealed that in the period from the last deglaciation through the holocene the synchronous temperature anomalies before and after the 8 2 k event seem to be related to meltwater outflow and reduced solar activity respectively it is important that the all temperature anomalies whether because of reduced solar activity in the late holocene or from meltwater discharge in the early holocene are accompanied by an abrupt decline in the indian ocean summer monsoon and abrupt strengthening of the east asian summer monsoon it is likely that reduced solar activity and meltwater outflow appear to modulate earth system changes in the same direction the influences could be compounded reduced solar activity and meltwater outburst both appear to act as triggers for occurrence of the el nino phenomenon in the equatorial pacific ocean which may result in broad teleconnections between the temperature anomaly in the northern hemisphere and abrupt variation of the asian monsoon

a geochemical and sedimentary record of high southern latitude holocene climate evolution from lago fagnano tierra del fuego abstract situated at the southern margin of the hemispheric westerly wind belt and immediately north of the antarctic polar frontal zone tierra del fuego is well positioned to monitor coupled changes in the ocean atmosphere system of the high southern latitudes here we describe a holocene paleoclimate record from sediment cores obtained from lago fagnano a large lake in southern tierra del fuego at 55 s to investigate past changes in climate related to these two important features of the global climate system we use an ams radiocarbon chronology for the last 8000 yr based on pollen concentrates thereby avoiding contamination from bedrock derived lignite our chronology is consistent with a tephrochronologic age date for deposits from the middle holocene volcan hudson eruption combining bulk organic isotopic 13 c and 15 n and elemental c and n parameters with physical sediment properties allows us to better understand sediment provenance and transport mechanisms and to interpret holocene climate and tectonic change during the last 8000 yr co variability and long term trends in c n ratio carbon accumulation rate and magnetic susceptibility reflect an overall holocene increase in the delivery of terrestrial organic and lithogenic material to the deep eastern basin we attribute this variability to westerly wind derived precipitation increased wind strength and precipitation in the late holocene drives the nothofagus forest eastward and enhances run off and terrigenous inputs to the lake superimposed on the long term trend are a series of abrupt 9 negative departures in c n ratio which constrain the presence of seismically driven mass flow events in the record we identify an increase in bulk 13 c between 7000 and 5000 cal yr bp that we attribute to enhanced aquatic productivity driven by warmer summer temperatures the lago fagnano 13 c record shows similarities with holocene records of sea surface temperature from the mid latitude chilean continental shelf and antarctic air temperatures from the taylor dome ice core record in east antarctica mid holocene warming occurred simultaneously across the antarctic frontal zone and in particular in locations currently influenced by the antarctic circumpolar current

holocene changes in the position and intensity of the southern westerly wind belt the position and intensity of the southern westerly wind belt varies seasonally as a consequence of changes in sea surface temperature during the austral winter the belt expands northward and the wind intensity in the core decreases conversely during the summer the belt contracts and the intensity within the core is strengthened reconstructions of the westerly winds since the last glacial maximum however have suggested that changes at a single site reflected shifts throughout the entire southern wind belt 1 4 here we use sedimentological and pollen records to reconstruct precipitation patterns over the past 12 500 yr from sites along the windward side of the andes precipitation at the sites located in the present core and northern margin of the westerlies is driven almost entirely by the wind belt 5 and can be used to reconstruct its intensity rather than varying coherently throughout the holocene epoch we find a distinct anti phasing of wind strength between the core and northern margin over multi millennial timescales during the early holocene the core westerlies were strong whereas the northern margin westerlies were weak we observe the opposite pattern in the late holocene as this variation resembles modern seasonal variability we suggest that our observed changes in westerly wind strength can best be explained by variations in sea surface temperature in the eastern south pacific ocean chile is ideally located to reconstruct past variability of the southern westerly wind belt sww as the sww almost entirely controls precipitation on the western side of the andes in southern south america with an extreme northsouth

holocene climate and glacial history of the northeastern antarctic peninsula the marine sedimentary record from a long shaldril core abstract a high resolution record of holocene deglacial and climate history was obtained from a 77 m sediment core from the firth of tay antarctic peninsula as part of the shaldril initiative this study provides a detailed sedimentological record of holocene paleoclimate and glacial advance and retreat from the eastern side of the peninsula a robust chronostratigraphy was derived from thirty three radiocarbon dates on carbonate material this chronostratigraphic framework was used to establish the timing of glacial and climate events derived from multiple proxies including magnetic susceptibility electric resistivity porosity ice rafted debris content organic carbon content nitrogen content biogenic silica content and diatom and foraminiferal assemblages the core bottomed out in a stiff diamicton interpreted as till gravelly and sandy mud above the till is interpreted as proximal glaciomarine sediment that represents decoupling of the glacier from the seafloor circa 9400 cal yr bp and its subsequent landward retreat this was approximately 5000 yr later than in the bransfield basin and south shetland islands on the western side of the peninsula the firth of tay core site remained in a proximal glaciomarine setting until 8300 cal yr bp at which time significant glacial retreat took place deposition of diatomaceous glaciomarine sediments after 8300 cal yr bp indicates that an ice shelf has not existed in the area since this time the onset of seasonally open marine conditions between 7800 and 6000 cal yr bp followed the deglacial period and is interpreted as the mid holocene climatic optimum open marine conditions lasted until present with a minor cooling having occurred between 6000 and 4500 cal yr bp and a period of minor glacial retreat and or decreased sea ice coverage between 4500 and 3500 cal yr bp finally climatic cooling and variable sea ice cover occurred from 3500 cal yr bp to near present and it is interpreted as being part of the neoglacial the onset of the neoglacial appears to have occurred earlier in the firth of tay than on the western side of the antarctic peninsula the medieval warm period and little ice age were not pronounced in the firth of tay the breadth and synchroneity of the rapid regional warming and glacial retreat observed in the antarctic peninsula during the last century appear to be unprecedented during the holocene epoch

holocene palaeoecology and climate history of south georgia sub antarctica based on a macrofossil record of bryophytes and seeds the results are presented of a detailed plant macrofossil analysis of a c 14 dated holocene organic sequence from a sub antarctic island south georgia in the peat infilling of a rock basin 31 bryophyte species and many of the principal species of the present day angiosperm flora associated with bog communities have been identified the zonation of the bryophytes and the seeds and fruits shows a striking correspondence with the sediment stratigraphy and indicates five ecological phases the first four reflect a succession from a minerotrophic shallow pool to an ombrotrophic warnstorfia polytrichum bog after the deposition of a greyish brown layer c 2200 c 14 years bp a wet deschampsia warnstofia sanionia rostkovia bog came into existence which is still present today the ecological phases are radiocarbon dated they can be interpreted in terms of climate development during the holocene climate ameliorated rapidly at about 10 000 c 14 years bp followed by a drier period around 7000 c 14 years bp the climate became wetter and the following c 2500 years probably represent the climatic optimum between 4500 and 2600 c 14 years bp drier conditions prevailed at the study site the most striking change occurred at 2600 c 14 years bp when a marked change in vegetation and ecology indicates much wetter conditions less

late glacial to middle holocene climatic record of lacustrine biogenic silica oxygen isotopes from a southern ocean island late glacial to middle holocene climatic record of lacustrine biogenic silica oxygen isotopes from a southern ocean island

vegetation and fire history during the last 18 000 cal yr b p in southern patagonia mallin pollux coyhaique province aisen 45 41 30 s 71 50 30 w 640 m elevation to better understand the climate vegetation and fire history of southern south america since the last deglaciation sediment characteristics diatoms pollen microscopic and macroscopic charcoal and magnetic susceptibility were analyzed in a 14 m long sediment core from a closed basin fen at lago pollux aisen province southern chile 45 41 30 s lat 71 50 30 w long 640 m elev sediment characteristics absence of diatoms and scarce pollen suggest that before 18 000 cal yr bp glacier meltwaters were feeding the small basin when local glaciers were at their maximum position from 18 000 to ca 14 000 cal yr bp the site was a shallow productive pond surrounded by a sparse scrub steppe and accompanied some fire activity this period was markedly drier but warmer than before by 14 000 cal yr bp the fen developed and a species rich steppe expanded suggesting a moderate increase in effective moisture and temperature high fluctuations of terrestrial and aquatic pollen taxa occur between 14 000 and 11 000 cal yr bp attesting to climate variability at this time between 11 000 and 7500 cal yr bp nothofagus steppe woodland developed and fire activity was very high with several large local events precipitation must have increased but most likely summers were drier than today with high frequency of convective storms after 7500 cal yr bp present day closed nothofagus forest became established and fire activity decreased suggesting establishment of present day equable precipitation regime the forest was more open between 4000 and 1500 cal yr bp than before and shrubs or trees grew on the fen forest clearance and grazing only began in the mid 20th century both in terms of timing and character of past changes in vegetation and fire activity the record from m pollux takes an intermediate position between records from high southern latitudes versus those from mid latitudes indicating the different latitudinal expression of the southern westerly storm tracks during the last 18 000 cal yr bp 2007 elsevier b v all rights reserved

changes in holocene climate and the intensity of southern hemisphere westerly winds based on a high resolution palynological record from sub antarctic south georgia sub antarctic south georgia is a key region for studying climate variability in the southern hemisphere because of its position at the core of the southern hemisphere westerly wind belt and between the antarctic circumpolar current and the polar frontal zone here we present a 5 8 m long high resolution pollen record from fan lake on annenkov island dominated by local sub polar vegetation with acaena and poaceae being present throughout the last 7000 years palynological and sedimentological analyses revealed a warm late holocene climate optimum between 3790 and 2750 cal yr bp which was followed by a gradual transition to cool and wet conditions this cooling was interrupted by slightly warmer environmental conditions between 1670 and 710 cal yr bp that partly overlap with the northern hemisphere medieval climate anomaly increases in non native and long distance pollen grains transported from south america e g nothofagus podocarpus indicate that stronger southern hemisphere westerly winds over south georgia possibly occurred during some colder phases of the late holocene most notably between c 2210 and 1670 cal yr bp and after 710 cal yr bp

have the southern westerlies changed in a zonally symmetric manner over the last 14 000 years a hemisphere wide take on a controversial problem the prevailing view in the palaeoclimate literature of the last 20 years is that the southern westerly winds sww were intensified over southern australia and tasmania during the warmer than present early holocene 11e8 ka at similar latitudes on the opposite side of the southern mid latitudes palaeoclimate studies have suggested a poleward shift of the northern edge of the westerlies and focusing at 49 s in southern south america this zonal asymmetry contrasts with the modern day zonal symmetry displayed by the sww and poses a formidable challenge to an understanding of the modes of climatic variability of the southern extra tropics this paper presents an updated synthesis of continuous radiocarbon dated palaeoenvironmental data from the westerlies zone of influence in all southern hemisphere continents synchronous multi millennial trends in moisture vegetation fire and hydrologic balance are remarkably consistent with the way the sww changes impact upon the climate in southern hemisphere landmasses in the modern climate considering the modern relationships between local precipitation and zonal wind speeds it is suggested that the sww changed in a zonally symmetric manner at multi millennial scale between 14 and 5 ka regional asymmetry develops after 5 ka across the southern hemisphere with a pattern of precipitation anomalies akin to the modern functioning of el nino e southern oscillation which started w6200 years ago

holocene climate variability in antarctica based on 11 ice core isotopic records a comparison is made of the holocene records obtained from water isotope measurements along 11 ice cores from coastal and central sites in east antarctica vostok dome b plateau remote komsomolskaia dome c taylor dome dominion range d47 km105 and law dome and west antarctica byrd with temporal resolution from 20 to 50 yr the long term trends possibly reflect local ice sheet elevation fluctuations superimposed on common climatic fluctuations all the records confirm the widespread antarctic early holocene optimum between 11 500 and 9000 yr in the ross sea sector a secondary optimum is identified between 7000 and 5000 yr whereas all eastern antarctic sites show a late optimum between 6000 and 3000 yr superimposed on the long time trend all the records exhibit 9 aperiodic millennial scale oscillations climatic optima show a reduced pacing between warm events typically 800 yr whereas cooler periods are associated with less frequent warm events pacing 1200 yr

covariability of the southern westerlies and atmospheric co2 during the holocene a suite of mechanisms has been proposed to account for natural variations in atmospheric co 2 during the holocene all of which have achieved limited success in reproducing the timing direction and magnitude of change recent modeling studies propose that changes in the latitudinal position and strength of the southern hemisphere westerly winds sww can greatly influence large scale ocean circulation and degassing of the deep ocean via changes in wind driven upwelling in the southern ocean the extent to which the hypothesized sww southern ocean coupled system could account for changes in atmospheric co 2 is uncertain because of a lack of observations on the behavior of the sww in the past the paucity of appropriate records of productivity changes in the southern ocean and our limited understanding of the sensitivity of the southern ocean biological and or physical system to sww forcing here we report a reconstruction of the behavior of the sww during the past 14 k y based on terrestrial ecosystem proxies from western patagonia south america the reconstructed variations in the intensity of zonal flow correspond to the timing and structure of atmospheric co 2 changes and are consistent with the modeled magnitude of co 2 changes induced by varying strengths of the sww the close match between data and models supports the view that the sww southern ocean coupled system underpins multimillennial co 2 variations during the current interglacial and possibly during glacial cycles over the past 800 k y

mechanisms of holocene palaeoenvironmental change in the antarctic peninsula region the antarctic peninsula is one of the three fastest warming regions on earth here we review holocene proxy records of marine and terrestrial palaeoclimate in the region and discuss possible forcing mechanisms underlying past change with a specific focus on past warm periods our aim is to critically evaluate the mechanisms by which palaeoclimate changes might have occurred in order to provide a longer term context for assessing the drivers of recent warming two warm events are well recorded in the holocene palaeoclimate record namely the early holocene warm period and the mid holocene hypsithermal mhh whereas there are fewer proxy data for the mediaeval warm period mwp and the recent rapid regional rrr warming we show that the early holocene warm period and mhh might be explained by relatively abrupt shifts in position of the southern westerlies superimposed on slower solar insolation changes a key finding of our synthesis is that the marine and terrestrial records in the ap appear to show markedly different behaviour during the mhh this might be partly explained by contrasts in the seasonal insolation forcing between these records circumpolar deep water cdw has been implicated in several of the prominent changes through the holocene but there are still differences in interpretation of the proxy record that make its influence difficult to assess further work is required to investigate contrasts between marine and terrestrial proxy records east west contrasts in palaeoclimate the history of cdw to retrieve a long onshore high resolution record of the holocene and determine the role of sea ice in driving or modulating palaeoclimate change along with further efforts to study the proxy record of the rrr and the mwp

multi proxy analyses of a peat bog on isla de los estados easternmost tierra del fuego a unique record of the variable southern hemisphere westerlies since the last deglaciation we have analyzed an almost 14 000 year old peat sequence on the island of isla de los estados 55 degrees s 64 degrees w east of tierra del fuego in the core of the southern hemisphere westerlies a multitude of methods have been used high resolution c 14 dating detailed lithologic descriptions including humification degree loss on ignition magnetic susceptibility bulk density pollen and spore analysis and determination of aeolian sand influx by combining proxies for wind and precipitation we have been able to reconstruct how the westerlies have varied over time in the atlantic sector of the southern ocean it shows that this westerly wind belt was most intense at the onset of the record 13 600 13 200 cal bp coinciding with the mid to late part of the antarctic cold reversal followed by a gradual decline at 12 200 cal bp the westerlies seem to have shifted to a position south of tierra del fuego and this phase the calmest and driest period on the island throughout the sequence ended at 10 000 cal bp when the westerlies moved equatorward again since then the westerlies have been present but with a variable impact on the 55 degrees s latitude of the atlantic mostly conditions have been fairly similar to today but occasionally with a wider or narrower and or weaker or stronger wind belt at 7200 cal bp wind intensity began to increase and between 4500 and 3500 cal bp these southern latitudes experienced a distinct wind and precipitation maximum both in terms of perseverance and intensity our results show a both wide and strong wind belt with possible niveo aeolian activity in tierra del fuego in winter and possibly creating milder summers around the antarctic peninsula in the later part of the holocene expansion contraction phases of the wind belt especially in winter seem to have been a common phenomenon c 2012 elsevier ltd all rights reserved

holocene palaeoclimates of southern patagonia limnological and environmental history of lago cardiel argentina multiproxy palaeoenvironmental and palaeolimnological analyses of two holocene age sediment cores from the margin of lago cardiel a 76 m deep closed basin lake in southern patagonia latitude 49 s provide information on lake level changes that can be related to regional palaeoclimate scenarios sedimentol ogic magnetic susceptibility organic and inorganic carbon content and environmental indicators pollen dia toms ostracodes and stable isotopes on ostracodes show lake levels markedly higher than today during the early holocene following a rapid lake level rise after a desiccation phase prior to 11 000 bp after about 6000 bp lake levels were generally lower but underwent repeated e uctuations these inferred changes support the previously proposed view that the southern westerly stormtracks were focused zonal north of latitude 50 s during the early holocene allowing for antarctic cold fronts to bring easterly moisture to southern patagonia whereas during the late holocene the stormtracks shifted seasonally with an overall more meridional behaviour resulting in less and more variable moisture at these latitudes