Skip to main content

Lund University Publications

LUND UNIVERSITY LIBRARIES

Climatic variability during the last interglacial inferred from geochemical proxies in the Lake El'gygytgyn sediment record

Cunningham, Laura ; Vogel, Hendrik ; Nowaczyk, Norbert ; Wennrich, Volker ; Juschus, Olaf ; Persson, Per LU and Rosen, Peter (2013) In Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology 386. p.408-414
Abstract
The Last Interglacial Period (LIP) is often regarded as a good analogue for potential climatic conditions under predicted global warming scenarios. Despite this, there is still debate over the nature, duration and frequency of climatic changes during this period. One particularly contentious issue has been the apparent evidence of climatic instability identified in many marine cores but seemingly lacking from many terrestrial archives, especially within the Arctic, a key region for global climate change research. In this paper, geochemical records from Lake El'gygytgyn, north-eastern Russia, are used to infer past climatic changes during the LIP from within the high Arctic. With a sampling resolution of ~ 20–~ 90 years, these records offer... (More)
The Last Interglacial Period (LIP) is often regarded as a good analogue for potential climatic conditions under predicted global warming scenarios. Despite this, there is still debate over the nature, duration and frequency of climatic changes during this period. One particularly contentious issue has been the apparent evidence of climatic instability identified in many marine cores but seemingly lacking from many terrestrial archives, especially within the Arctic, a key region for global climate change research. In this paper, geochemical records from Lake El'gygytgyn, north-eastern Russia, are used to infer past climatic changes during the LIP from within the high Arctic. With a sampling resolution of ~ 20–~ 90 years, these records offer the potential for detailed, high-resolution palaeoclimate reconstruction. This study shows that the LIP commenced in central Chukotka ~ 129 thousand years ago (ka), with the warmest climatic conditions occurring between ~ 128 and 127 ka before being interrupted by a short-lived cold reversal. Mild climatic conditions then persisted until ~ 122 ka when a marked reduction in the sedimentation rate suggests a decrease in precipitation. A further climatic deterioration at ~ 118 ka marks the return to glacial conditions. This study highlights the value of incorporating several geochemical proxies when inferring past climatic conditions, thus providing the potential to identify signals related to environmental change within the catchment. We also demonstrate the importance of considering how changes in sedimentation rate influence proxy records, in order to develop robust palaeoenvironmental reconstructions. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
; ; ; ; ; and
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
keywords
Palaeolimnology, Climate change, Far-eastern Arctic Russia, Primary productivity, Glacial termination, Last interglacial period
in
Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology
volume
386
pages
408 - 414
publisher
Elsevier
external identifiers
  • scopus:84881542454
ISSN
1872-616X
DOI
10.1016/j.palaeo.2013.06.009
language
English
LU publication?
no
id
5b49248b-bfa2-4859-8e02-af22e90e530d (old id 4332221)
date added to LUP
2016-04-01 10:53:03
date last changed
2022-02-25 06:41:05
@article{5b49248b-bfa2-4859-8e02-af22e90e530d,
  abstract     = {{The Last Interglacial Period (LIP) is often regarded as a good analogue for potential climatic conditions under predicted global warming scenarios. Despite this, there is still debate over the nature, duration and frequency of climatic changes during this period. One particularly contentious issue has been the apparent evidence of climatic instability identified in many marine cores but seemingly lacking from many terrestrial archives, especially within the Arctic, a key region for global climate change research. In this paper, geochemical records from Lake El'gygytgyn, north-eastern Russia, are used to infer past climatic changes during the LIP from within the high Arctic. With a sampling resolution of ~ 20–~ 90 years, these records offer the potential for detailed, high-resolution palaeoclimate reconstruction. This study shows that the LIP commenced in central Chukotka ~ 129 thousand years ago (ka), with the warmest climatic conditions occurring between ~ 128 and 127 ka before being interrupted by a short-lived cold reversal. Mild climatic conditions then persisted until ~ 122 ka when a marked reduction in the sedimentation rate suggests a decrease in precipitation. A further climatic deterioration at ~ 118 ka marks the return to glacial conditions. This study highlights the value of incorporating several geochemical proxies when inferring past climatic conditions, thus providing the potential to identify signals related to environmental change within the catchment. We also demonstrate the importance of considering how changes in sedimentation rate influence proxy records, in order to develop robust palaeoenvironmental reconstructions.}},
  author       = {{Cunningham, Laura and Vogel, Hendrik and Nowaczyk, Norbert and Wennrich, Volker and Juschus, Olaf and Persson, Per and Rosen, Peter}},
  issn         = {{1872-616X}},
  keywords     = {{Palaeolimnology; Climate change; Far-eastern Arctic Russia; Primary productivity; Glacial termination; Last interglacial period}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  pages        = {{408--414}},
  publisher    = {{Elsevier}},
  series       = {{Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology}},
  title        = {{Climatic variability during the last interglacial inferred from geochemical proxies in the Lake El'gygytgyn sediment record}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.palaeo.2013.06.009}},
  doi          = {{10.1016/j.palaeo.2013.06.009}},
  volume       = {{386}},
  year         = {{2013}},
}